BX  7260    .J8  B3  1852 
Barrows,  Elijah  Porter,  1807 
-1888 . 

Memoir  of  Everton  Judson 


J  UD  SON'S  MEMOIR. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/memoirofevertonjOObarr_0 


OF 


EVERTON  JUDSON 


Bl 


E.  P.  BARROWS,  Jr. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED  BY  CROCKER  AND  BREWSTER, 
47,  Washington-street. 

1852. 


Entered  according  to  an  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1652, 

BY  C.  L.  LATIMER, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


PREFACE 


The  materials  for  the  following  Memoir  were 
mostly  collected  by  the  author  in  the  summers 
of  1849  and  1850,  during  the  brief  intervals  of 
leisure  then  enjoyed  by  him.  But  the  pressure 
of  his  official  labors  has  prevented  him  from  ar- 
ranging them  in  a  proper  form  for  publication 
before  the  present  year.  To  the  numerous  friends 
of  Mr.  Judson  who  have  contributed,  partly  by 
epistolary  correspondence,  but  principally  by  per- 
sonal interviews,  to  complete  the  portraiture,  he 
tenders  his  sincere  thanks;  and  he  ventures  to 
hope  that  his  statements  of  facts  will  be  found 
to  be,  by  their  aid,  in  all  important  particulars; 
accurate.  Few  understand  the  amount  of  labor 
necessary  to  exclude  errors  from  even  a  brief  nar- 
rative ;  and  some  of  these,  in  respect  to  minor 

points,  may  have  found  their  way  into  the  fol- 
1* 


6 


PREFACE. 


lowing  pages.  But  the  author  is  firm  in  the  be- 
lief that  the  Memoir  will  be  found  to  be,  in  the 
whole,  what  he  has  aimed  to  make  it,  historic, 
and  not  ideal :  and  he  now  commits  it  to  the 
public  with  the  hope  and  prayer  that  it  may  con- 
tribute to  perpetuate  not  the  memory  alone,  but 
(which  is  the  chief  thing)  the  usefulness  of  his 
much  lamented  friend. 


Sept.  1,  1852. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction.  .   

CHAPTER  I. 

Mr.  Jndson's  youth  and  conversion. — His  parentage — his  pater- 
nal and  maternal  grand-fathers — his  parents — anecdote  of  his 
mother  in  New  York  Evangelist — traits  of  his  youthful  char- 
acter— his  conversion  and  activity  in  religious  meetings — 
teaches  a  school  in  Sherman,  Ct. — notice  of  his  school  by  one 
who  attended  it  


CHAPTER  II. 

His  preparation  for  the  ministry,  including  his  collegiate  and  the- 
ological course. — Turns  his  thoughts  to  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try— his  doubts  respecting  his  qua.ifications  for  that  office — 
hurried  and  imperfect  preparation  for  College — character  and 
standing  in  College — extreme  diffidence  and  retiring  habits  in 
College,  and  in  the  Theological  Seminary — religious  activity 
in  both — efforts  for  the  colored  population  of  New  Haven — 
holds  religious  meetings  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Haven — notice 
of  one  of  these  

CHAPTER  III. 

His  licensure  and  Sabbath  School  agency. — Receives  licensure 
at  the  close  of  his  second  year  in  theology — general  interest  at 
this  time  in  behalf  of  the  West— oilers  his  services  in  connec- 


8 


CONTENTS. 


tion  wilh  Mr.  Barber  to  the  American  Sunday  School  Union — 
letter  to  his  father  in  reference  to  this  step — the  two  friends 
repair  to  Philadelphia  to  receive  their  commission  and  outfit — 
Southern  Ohio  assigned  as  their  field  of  labor — their  first  plan 
of  operation — Mr.  Judson's  account  of  his  first  reception  in 
Ohio — they  adopt  a  new  plan  of  labor — its  efficiency  and  suc- 
cessful results — Mr.  Judson  is  laid  aside  by  sickness — returns 
to  Woodbury  in  feeble  health — depression  of  spirits — remarka- 
ble incident  connected  with  this.  

CHAPTER  IV. 

His  location  in  Milan,  with  an  account  of  his  labors  in  Berlin. — 
Offers  himself  to  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society — 
is  assigned  to  Marion  County,  Ohio — providential  events  that 
guided  him  to  Milan — influences  that  repelled  him  from  Ma- 
rion county — correspondence  with  Mr.  Barber  on  the  subject 
— sickness  in  Milan — decides  to  remain  in  Milan — preaches 
every  third  Sabbath  in  Berlin. 

Notice  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  that  place — success 
of  his  labors  in  Berlin — his  account  of  the  Sabbath  school 
there — erection  of  a  new  house  of  worship — his  liberality  on 
this  occasion — discontinues  his  labors  in  Berlin — solicitude  for 
the  Church  in  that  place  

CHAPTER  V. 

His  labors  in  Milan  till  the  Fall  of  1S31,  with  a  notice  of  the  part 
he  bore  in  protracted  meetings. — Notice  of  the  Congregational 
Church  in  Milan — its  organization  at  Spears'  Corners — form 
of  government  changed  to  Presbyterian  in  1S25 — changed 
back  to  Congregational  in  1S30 — Mr  Judson's  first  discourse 
in  Milan — ardor  with  which  he  commenced  his  work — 
abundance  of  his  labors — fresh  attack  of  the  ague — revival 
in  1830  and  1831 — extracts  from  his  reports  in  the  Home 
Missionary. 

Notice  of  his  labors  in  protracted  meetings — change  of  his 
views  in  regard  to  "  new  measures  " — engages  wilh  Mr.  Con- 
ger in  protracted  meetings — extent  of  his  labors — discontinues 
them — reasons  of  this  discontinuance — how  he  fell  into  the 
habit  of  preaching  unwritten  sermons  


CONTENTS. 


9 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Continuation  of  his  labors  in  Milan  till  the  close  of  the  year  1S36. 
— Plans  Ihe  Huron  Institute — letter  to  Mr.  Barber  on  this  sub- 
ject— the  Institute  located  at  Milan — superintends  the  erection 
of  the  edifice — Mr.  Barber  removes  to  Milan — his  congrega- 
tion commence  worshiping  in  the  Institute — revival  of  1S33 — 
notice  of  this  in  Matheson  and  Reed's  Visit  to  the  American 
Churches — Mr.  Judson's  marriage — plan  for  a  new  house  of 
worship — part  Mr.  Judson  bore  in  this  enterprise,  with  remarks 
on  the  same — the  congregation  remove  to  the  basement  of  the 
Church — protracted  meeting — results — remarks  on  these  re- 
sults— effect  on  Mr.  Judson's  views.  75 

CHAPTER  VII. 

From  the  beginning  of  1837  to  the  close  of  his  public  labors  in 
December  1847. — Dedication  of  the  new  Church — Mr.  Judson 
returns  to  written  sermons — gives  increased  attention  to  read- 
ing— enlarges  the  range  of  his  pulpit  themes — is  installed  as 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Milan — previous  views 
on  the  subject  of  installation — effect  of  these  various  changes 
on  his  pulpit  ministrations — introduces  Bible  classes — his  care- 
ful preparation  for  these — courses  of  sermons — extent  of  his 
labors  during  this  period — seasons  of  special  religious  interest 
— in  1839  and  40 — in  1846 — his  own  account  of  the  progress  of 
his  Church. 

Notice  of  his  connection  with  Western  Reserve  College — 
elected  a  Trustee  of  the  College  in  1842— declines  a  perma- 
nent agency  for  the  College — reasons — takes  a  temporary 
agency — results.   91 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Review  of  his  public  life. —  General  remarks.        ....  103 

Section  1. — Mr.  Judson  as  a  preacher. — Remarks  on  his  two- 
fold change,  from  written  to  unwritten  discourses,  and  from 
unwritten  to  written — the  general  question  of  the  comparative 
advantages  of  written  and  unwritten  sermons  considered — 
simplicity  and  transparency  of  his  style — its  animated  and 
graphic  character — sarcasm — habit  of  introducing  into  his  dis- 
courses the  results  of  his  reading — simplicity  in  the  arrange- 


10 


CONTENTS. 


ment  of  his  sermons — dislike  of  expository  discourses — variety 
of  topics — extracts  from  his  article  in  the  Biblical  Repository 
on  this  subject — peculiar  habit  of  preparing  sermons — disas- 
trous result  of  this — length  of  his  discourses — views  in  the- 
ology  

Section  2. — Mr.  Judson  as  a  pastor. — His  excellence  in  this 
respect  connected  with  the  steady  growth  of  his  Church — 
his  whole-hearted  devotion  to  the  pastoral  work — watchful 
care  of  his  flock — intimate  knowledge  of  his  people — habit  in 
respect  to  absentees  from  his  Church — watchfulness  in  respect 
to  straneers — visitations — his  caution  to  pastors  in  this  respect 
— ability  to  discern  and  forestall  rising  trouble — his  sound 
judgment  and  fertility  of  resources — tact  in  approaching  men 
of  all  classes — first  point  of  contact  with  the  irreligious — assi- 
duity in  visiting  the  sick — great  success  in  improving  afflic- 
tions— his  views  on  this  point — indirect  way  of  encountering 
error — care  in  respect  to  the  reading  of  his  congregation — 
high  sense  of  his  rights  as  a  pastor — treatment  of  intruders — 
paramount  influence  in  his  parish — care  to  consult  the  leading 
men  of  his  congregation — seasons  of  depression — unhappy  in- 
fluence of  these  

Section  3 — Mr.  Judson  in  ecclesiastical  ineetings. —  His  public 
spirit — great  influence  in  ecclesiastical  meetings — testimony 
on  this  point — his  caution  in  respect  to  points  which  he  wished 
to  carry — impetuosity  towards  opponents — his  relation  to  the 
Ministers'  meeting — views  of  Church  polity  

Section  4. — His  efforts  for  the  young — His  way  of  addressing 
the  young— solicitude  to  interest  them  in  religions  services — 
efforts  to  bring  young  men  into  the  Huron  Institute  with  a 
view  to  their  preparation  for  the  ministry — bis  fatherly  interest 
in  such — it  followed  them  through  their  whole  course  of  study 
— testimony  on  this  point — children  of  others  received  into  his 
family — his  mode  of  repelling  undue  familiarity — review  of  his 
labors  for  Western  Reserve  College.  

Section  5. — His  position  in  regard  to  questions  of  reform. — 
His  decided  stand  on  the  temperance  question — sympathy  for 
the  colored  population — joins  the  Huron  County  Anti-Slavery 
Society — leaves  it  when  it  takes  a  political  aspect — his  po^iiion 
in  this  respect — in  questions  of  reform  looks  at  realities — 
anecdote  


CONTENTS. 


11 


CHAPTER  IX. 

His  last  sickness  and  death. — General  view  of  his  health — symp- 
toms of  apoplexy  begin  to  appear — does  not  relax  his  labors — 
extra  service  in  Cleveland — severe  effort  upon  his  return  to 
Milan — the  attack  of  apoplexy — sets  out  on  a  journey  to  the 
Eastern  States — sudden  and  entire  change  of  symptoms — his 
letter  from  Green's  Farms — prosecutes  his  journey  without 
benefit — returns  to  Milan — his  disease  assumes  its  final  form. 

The  closing  scene — general  view  of  his  last  hours — spirit 
with  which  he  bore  his  sufferings — his  own  reflections  on  his 
ministry — composure  in  prospect  of  death — parting  intercourse 
with  his  people — his  dying  messages — exhorts  his  ministerial 
brethren  to  increased  earnestness — solicitude  respecting  a  suc- 
cessor— his  death  184 


CHAPTER  X. 

General  estimate  of  his  character. — The  elements  of  a  strong 
character  considered — Mr.  Judson  possessed  these  elements  ; 
— 1.  Great  motive  power — consequent  impetuosity — 2.  Tena- 
city of  purpose — 3.  High  intellectual  powers — their  sphere  was 
practical  life — elements  of  his  power  in  deliberative  assem- 
blies— eapaeity  of  gaining  access  to  the  minds  of  others— busi- 
ness talents. 

Subordinate  traits  of  character — great  plainness  of  speech — 
generosity — social  disposition — his  views  on  social  gatherings 
— jocularity  and  sarcasm. 

General  complexion  of  his  piety — it  was  solid  and  practical 
in  its  character — his  views  respecting  high-wrought  exercises 
— he  held  the  great  doctrines  of  graee  in  a  practical  way — his 
adaptedness  to  the  field  of  labor  assigned  to  him  by  God's 
providence.  197 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  genuine  feelings  of  the  christian  heart  are 
expressed  by  the  Apostle,  when  he  says,  "  None  of 
us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself. 
For  whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord  ;  and 
whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord  :  whether 
we  live,  therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's."  It 
is  the  prayer  of  every  true  believer,  that  not  his 
life  only,  but  also  his  death  may  be  "  unto  the 
Lord."  If  he  hopes  after  death  to  be  himself  at 
rest  with  Christ,  he  also  hopes  to  leave  behind  him 
in  the  world  an  influence  which  shall  bring  others 
to  Christ.  His  brethren  who  remain  yet  for  a  sea- 
son on  earth,  sympathizing  with  him  in  this  the 
strongest  desire  of  his  heart,  are  anxious  to  use  in 
the  most  effective  way  his  past  life  and  labors  for 
advancing  the  kingdom  of  their  common  Lord. 
All  religious  biographies  should  have  this  for  their 
end.  To  gratify  the  feelings  of  surviving  friends 
is  not  a  worthy  motive  for  the  expenditure  of  time 
and  toil  in  their  preparation.  If  they  cannot  be 
2 


14 


INTRODUCTION'. 


made  subservient  to  the  interests  of  Christ's 
Church,  they  were  better  omitted. 

But,  that  they  may  accomplish  this  high  end,  it 
is  necessary  that  they  be  strictly  conformed  to 
truth.  The  biography  must  present  not  an  ideal 
of  the  man,  but,  as  far  as  possible,  the  very  man 
himself,  as  he  lived  and  moved  about  in  society. 
Thus  much  may,  indeed,  be  conceded,  that  his 
faults  should  be  touched  with  a  friendly  hand,  and 
dwelt  upon  only  so  far  as  the  exhibition  of  them 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  correct  understanding  of 
his  history  with  the  lessons  of  instruction  which  it 
contains.  But  they  should  not  be  denied  or  con- 
cealed ;  nor  should  his  virtues,  on  the  other  band, 
be  exaggerated,  so  as  to  produce  a  false  picture  of 
bis  character.  For  it  is  reality,  not  fiction,  that 
moves  the  human  mind  to  emulation.  The  exhi- 
bition in  actual  life  of  the  christian  graces,  though 
they  be  in  comparatively  feeble  measure  and  al- 
loyed with  many  imperfections,  has  far  more 
power  than  any  high-wrought  portraitures  of  ideal 
excellence  ;  which,  indeed,  precisely  because  they 
are  the  products  of  imagination  instead  of  history, 
are  regarded  as  above  the  range  of  human  attain- 
ments, and,  consequently,  though  they  may  elicit 
much  admiration  as  works  of  art,  excite  to  imita- 
tion only  in  a  feeble  degree.  Consider  for  a  mo- 
ment how  the  life  of  Christ,  as  given  by  the  four 
Evangelists,  would  be  shorn  of  its  mighty  power 
over  the  human  heart,  could  we  even  but  suspect 
it  of  being  ideal,  and  not  strictly  historic.    Or,  to 


INTRODUCTION. 


15 


take  an  example  from  a  man  like  ourselves,  con- 
sider how  the  Apostle  Paul's  influence  over  the 
churches,  as  a  christian  man,  would  be,  for  all 
practical  purposes,  annihilated,  were  the  record  of 
his  life  and  labors  and  sufferings  believed  to  be  a 
romance  instead  of  a  reality.  In  character  and 
morals  it  is  by  what  we  know  to  exist  as  a  part  of 
history,  rather  than  by  what  some  genius  can  con- 
ceive to  exist,  that  our  spirits  are  stirred  within  us 
to  emulation. 

It  follows  that  no  man  is  worthy  of  having  his 
biography  written,  who  has  not  strength  enough 
of  character  to  be  described  as  he  is.  If,  in  order 
to  make  out  an  interesting  and  attractive  memoir, 
it  be  necessary  to  falsify  and  exaggerate  the  facts 
of  his  history  and  character,  then  let  his  memory 
rest  with  his  ashes  in  quiet  oblivion.  The  cause 
of  truth  needs  no  such  helps.  A  truly  strong  char- 
acter, when  faithfully  exhibited  with  its  real  ex- 
cellencies and  defects,  always  produces  a  salutary 
impression  upon  the  reader's  mind.  So  are  the 
ancient  worthies  presented  to  us  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  for  our  instruction. 

From  what  has  been  said,  the  reader  will  natu- 
rally infer  that  the  author  considers  the  person 
whose  biography  he  now  presents  to  the  public, 
as  having  been  a  man  worthy  to  be  described  as 
he  was,  without  the  embellishments  of  fiction.  In 
this  inference  he  will  be  entirely  correct.  Mr.  Jud- 
son,  with  some  faults  which — such  was  his  native 
openness  of  spirit — he  took  no  pains  to  hide  be- 


16 


INTRODUCTION. 


hind  a  smooth  exterior,  possessed  rare  excellencies 
and  great  force  of  character.  Not  to  anticipate 
the  proof  of  this,  which  will  be  found  in  the  fol- 
lowing memoir,  it  is  sufficient  here  to  refer  to 
what  he  accomplished,  and  to  the  influence  which 
he  exerted.  The  Church  in  Milan,  he  found  in  a 
feeble  and  broken  condition  ;  he  left  it,  after  nine- 
teen years  of  ministerial  labor,  one  of  the  strongest 
and  most  flourishing  churches  on  the  Western 
Reserve  :  during  the  whole  of  this  period,  charac- 
terized, as  all  know,  by  strong  excitement,  and 
abounding  in  causes  of  alienation  and  division,  he 
ever  maintained  a  paramount  sway  over  the  minds 
of  his  people,  young  and  old;  and  succeeded  in 
either  keeping  out  of  his  parish  or  counteracting 
those  influences  which,  in  so  many  other  churches, 
led  to  disunion  and  separation  :  nor  was  his  a 
waning  power;  on  the  contrary,  it  steadily  grew 
with  the  growth  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lived,  and  the  congregation  to  which  he  minister- 
ed ;  and  when  he  fell,  smitten  by  the  hand  of  dis- 
ease, he  fell  in  his  full  strength,  in  the  very  zenith 
of  his  influence.  He  was  the  father  of  the  Huron 
Institute,  and,  while  he  was  able  to  superintend 
its  affairs,  he  gave  to  it  a  remarkable  degree  of 
efficiency  and  success  :  especially  was  he  success- 
ful in  gaining  the  confidence  of  the  young,  and 
directing  them  into  paths  of  piety  and  usefulness; 
and  it  is  conceded  that  no  pastor  in  Northern  Ohio 
was  the  means  of  putting  so  many  young  men 
into  the  ministry.    His  counsel  was  ever  highly 


INTRODUCTION. 


17 


prized  and  abundantly  sought  by  all,  even  by  those 
who  did  not  sympathize  with  him  in  his  religious 
views:  in  the  ecclesiastical  and  ministerial  bodies 
with  which  he  was  connected,  as  well  as  in  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Western  Reserve  Col- 
lege, he  ever  maintained  a  high  place,  and  showed 
himself  a  most  efficient  and  useful  member.  A  man 
who  could,  in  troublous  times,  gain  and  hold  such 
influence,  and  accomplish  such  results,  must  have 
possessed  no  ordinary  force  of  character.  It  is 
from  the  persuasion  that  the  exhibition  of  this 
character  in  a  brief  memoir  will  furnish  salutary 
lessons  of  instruction,  that  the  author  has  been  in- 
duced to  undertake  the  work. 

That  all  will  be  satisfied  with  the  manner  of  its 
execution,  is  more  than  he  dares  to  hope.  To  Mr. 
Judson's  ardent  friends,  who  were  admitted  to  in- 
timate converse  with  him — and  it  was  in  such  in- 
timate converse  that  his  excellencies  peculiarly 
manifested  themselves — the  following  pages  may 
perhaps  appear  tame  and  spiritless ;  because  it  is 
impossible  adequately  to  describe  upon  paper  a 
character  like  his.  Others,  again,  who  saw  him 
only  at  a  distance,  where  certainly  he  did  not  ap- 
pear to  the  best  advantage,  or  who  found  them- 
selves brought  into  collision  with  him  in  respect 
to  those  principles  and  measures  in  which  he  dif- 
fered from  them — a  thing  which  could  not  but 
often  happen  in  the  case  of  one  occupying  his  po- 
sition and  living  in  his  times — may  think  that  his 
character  is  overdrawn.  But  the  author  commits 
2* 


18 


INTRODUCTION. 


this  memoir  to  the  public,  with  the  firm  belief  that 
it  contains  a  just,  though  it  may  be  in  some  re- 
spects inadequate,  view  of  the  man;  and,  as  such, 
his  prayer  to  God  is  that  it  may  be  blessed  as  the 
means  of  propagating  more  extensively  after  his 
death  that  good  influence  which  was  so  eminent 
in  his  life. 


MEMOIR. 


CHAPTER  L 

MR.  JUDSON's  YOUTH,  AND  CONVERSION. 

Everton  Judson,  the  subject  of  the  following 
memoir,  was  the  son  of  Asa  and  Sarah  Judson, 
and  was  born  in  Woodbury,  Connecticut,  Decem- 
ber 8,  1799.  He  was  descended  on  both  sides 
from  pious  ancestors.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
Benjamin  Judson,  is  represented  to  have  been  an 
eminently  devoted  Christian.  His  maternal  grand- 
father, Mathew  Minor,  held  the  office  of  deacon  in 
the  Congregational  Church  of  Woodbury  for  the" 
space  of  forty-three  years,  and  died  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-three.  He  was  a  Christian  of  the  old 
Puritan  stamp,  regular  and  strict  in  his  observance 
of  the  Sabbath  day,  and  spending  much  of  his 
time  in  prayer  and  the  perusal  of  the  Scriptures. 


20 


MEMOIR  OF 


His  practice  was  to  read  his  Bible  through  once  a 
year,  taking  for  his  daily  portion  three  chapters, 
and  on  Sabbath  clays  five.  He  took  a  deep  inter- 
est in  his  youthful  grandson  Everton ;  and  having 
been  permitted,  at  a  family  meeting  in  "Wood- 
bury, to  hear  him  preach,  expressed  a  lively  satis- 
faction, that  he  had  entered  the  ministry.  His 
example  seems  to  have  left  its  impress  on  Mr. 
Judson's  mind ;  and  it  deserves  to  be  mentioned, 
in  connection  with  the  high  value  which  the  latter 
ever  attached  to  God's  covenant  with  believing 
parents,  that  a  constant  expression  of  the  aged 
deacon  in  his  prayers  was,  "  May  we  and  our  pos- 
terity be  the  blessed  of  the  Lord  forever." 

Asa  Judson,  the  father  of  Everton,  was  a  man 
of  quick  feeling,  ardent  in  his  friendships,  and  im- 
pulsive in  his  character.  He  had  a  jocose  turn, 
and  was  very  communicative.  He  was  extremely 
fond  of  children,  and  always  had  a  word  ready  for 
every  boy  or  girl  whom  he  met.  He  had  no  sar- 
casm. This  trait,  which  was  sometimes  unpleas- 
antly conspicuous,  the  son  inherited  from  his 
mother.  In  the  family  of  Mr.  Judson,  religion  was 
made  a  topic  of  familiar  conversation,  and  both 
the  parents  took  pains  to  instruct  their  children  in 
•its  doctrines  and  duties.  The  Assembly's  Cate- 
chism they  taught  as  a  matter  of  course.  On  Sab- 
bath afternoons,  moreover,  Mr.  Judson  was  in  the 
habit  of  gathering  his  children  around  him,  and 
conversing  with  them  respecting  the  sermons  which 
they  had  heard.    Both  parents  had  the  most  un- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


21 


wavering  faith  in  God's  covenant  with  believers 
and  their  children. 

The  mother,  Mrs.  Sarah  Judson,  is  uniformly 
described  as  having  been  a  woman  of  great  worth, 
sterling  integrity,  and  decision  of  character.  One 
speaks  of  her  as  "  a  very  substantial  woman  ;" 
another,  as  "  a  stable  woman,  firm  as  the  hills;" 
another  still,  as  "  a  very  judicious,  consistent 
Christian."  She  was  very  frank  and  plain  of 
speech.  Mr.  Judson  always  affirmed  that  it  was 
from  his  mother  that  he  inherited  his  plainness  of 
speech.  She  was  very  decided  in  her  way,  which, 
in  consequence  of  the  clearness  of  her  judgment, 
was  generally  right ;  but,  whatever  were  her  decis- 
ions, she  was  not  easily  moved  from  them.  She 
had  no  jocoseness,  but,  if  she  wished  to  say  a  se- 
vere thing,  she  knew  how  to  make  it  felt.  Her 
piety  took  its  color  from  these  natural  traits  of 
character.  It  was  not  of  the  sentimental  or  fitful 
kind,  but  steady  and  substantial.  She  was  emi- 
nently a  woman  of  faith  and  prayer.  She  died 
May  5,  1820,  while  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was 
yet  unconverted.  In  her  death  faith  triumphed. 
She  was  composed  and  enjoyed  the  exercise  of 
her  reason  to  the  last;  conversing  calmly  with  her 
friends,  and  all  whom  she  saw,  particularly  with 
her  children,  whom  she  solemnly  committed  to  the 
care  of  God.  Many  years  afterwards,  Mr.  Judson 
inserted  in  the  New  York  Evangelist  an  interest- 
ing article  entitled  "My  Mother"  which  strikingly 
illustrates  the  deep  impress  that  her  example  and 


22 


MEMOIR  OF 


instructions  left  upon  his  youthful  mind.  It  is 
here  given,  with  the  omission  of  only  some  con- 
cluding sentences  addressed  to  the  young  who 
might  peruse  it. 

'•  My  mother  has  been  for  many  years  among 
the  glorified  in  heaven.  Her  look,  her  manner, 
her  tones  of  voice,  are  all  embalmed  in  my  mem- 
ory. The  most  distinct  impression  of  these  ever 
made,  and  the  one  which  is  still  the  most  vivid  in 
my  eye,  was  implanted  when  I  was  quite  a  small 
boy.  I  cannot  readily  tell  how  old  I  was — perhaps 
six  or  seven.  The  circumstances  are  fresh  in  my 
recollection  as  if  they  had  occurred  yesterday.  It 
was  a  cool  evening  in  autumn — the  fire  burned 
very  briskly  on  the  old  kitchen  hearth.  My  mother 
sat  in  the  corner  of  the  fire-place  at  the  right,  and 
just  upon  her  left  hand  I  had  seated  myself  upon 
the  large  stone  hearth  in  front  of  the  fire  with  my 
hammer,  amusing  myself  in  bending  a  piece  of 
wire  for  carrying  on  my  childish  sports.  I  was 
exceedingly  animated  at  my  work.  After  watch- 
ing me  for  some  time,  she  dropped  her  knitting  in 
her  lap,  and,  in  a  mellow  subdued  tone,  such  as 
mothers  only  can  use,  she  said,  '  My  son,  I  wish 
I  could  see  you  as  much  engaged  in  serving  Jesus 
Christ  as  you  are  at  your  play.'  She  said  not 
another  word,  but  it  went  directly  to  my  heart.  I 
turned  around,  and  slily  wiped  a  tear  from  my  eye, 
and  resumed  my  task.  My  wicked  heart  had  even 
then  pride  enough  to  prompt  a  wish  to  conceal  my 
tears,  yet  the  arrow  remained  in  my  bosom,  and, 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


though  many  a  long  year  passed  away  before  I 
began  in  reality  to  serve  Jesus  Christ,  the  scene 
upon  the  kitchen  hearth  was  never  driven  from  my 
mind.  In  all  the  folly  of  childhood,  and  wildness 
of  youth,  it  returned  at  intervals  to  haunt  my  soul. 
It  was  just  about  one  full  year  after  my  mother 
had  gone  home  to  glory,  that  I  first  gave  myself 
to  the  hand  of  Jesus.  O,  I  would  have  given  all 
this  world,  had  it  been  mine,  could  I  at  that  mo- 
ment have  taken  the  wings  of  a  dove  and  flown 
away,  where  I  could  mingle,  for  an  hour,  with  her 
happy  spirit,  that  I  might  recall  to  her  recollection 
the  scene  passed  on  the  old  kitchen  hearth.  I  sel- 
dom think  of  her  except  in  connection  with  that 
scene.  The  fixedness  of  her  large  blue  eyes,  her 
look,  her  mellow  and  subduing  tones,  her  very  ges- 
ture as  she  dropped  her  knitting  upon  her  lap,  are 
all  present  to  my  eye.  It  is  no  picture  of  the 
imagination.  After  the  lapse  of  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  I  love  to  drop  a  tear  as  I 
think  of  that  hour." 

To  those  who  knew  Mr.  Judson  personally  it  is 
unnecessary  to  say  that  in  him  were  blended  the 
natural  traits  of  character  of  both  his  parents,  as 
they  have  been  above  described  ;  and  that  the 
whole  of  his  public  and  private  life  exhibited  the 
fruits  of  their  early  pious  training. 

Mr.  Judson  was  the  eldest  of  six  children,  of 
whom  the  youngest  alone,  Mrs.  Lorena  Abbott, 
survives. 

In  his  youth  he  is  described  as  having  been 


24 


MEMOIR  OP 


prompt,  decided,  unyielding  in  his  opinions,  jocose, 
and  sarcastic.  His  moral  character  and  conduct 
were  always  unexceptionable.  He  was  quick  to 
learn,  and  rather  fond  of  reading,  though  not  re- 
markable in  these  respects.  To  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  when  he  first  became  personally  interested  in 
religion,  he  labored  on  his  father's  farm,  and  few 
notices  of  this  period  remain. 

In  the  spring  that  followed  the  death  of  Mr. 
Judson's  mother — the  spring  of  1821 — an  exten- 
sive revival  of  religion  took  place  in  Woodbury. 
His  attention  was  now  aroused,  and  he  commen- 
ced attending  the  evening  meetings.  He  was  not 
a  man  to  do  any  thing  which  he  undertook  at 
halves.  With  his  characteristic  decision  he  went 
to  all  the.  meetings  however  remote  from  his  fa- 
ther's residence.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he 
heard  a  sermon  from  the  words,  "  How  long  halt 
ye  between  two  opinions  ?  If  the  Lord  be  God, 
follow  him  :  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him."  The 
preacher  exhorted  his  hearers  to  go  home  and 
write  down,  each  one  for  himself,  his  decision  for 
God  or  for  Baal.  To  a  man  of  his  temperament 
this  proposition  could  not  but  come  with  peculiar 
force.  He  determined  to  comply  with  the  sugges- 
tion, and,  upon  going  home,  wrote  down  his  deci- 
sion for  the  Lord.  From  that  time  his  convictions 
of  sin  were  deep,  and  he  had  no  peace  till  he  found 
it  in  believing.  As  soon  as  he  had  himself  chosen 
Christ  for  his  Master,  he  became  very  active  in  his 
labors  to  bring  others  to  the  knowledge  of  the  same 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


25 


Saviour.  He  frequently  spoke  in  the  religious 
meetings.  There  was  at  this  time  too  much  of 
that  sharpness  and  asperity  which  also  character- 
ized his  early  ministry,  and  some  blamed  him  as 
being  too  forward.  But  what  he  said  came  from 
an  earnest  heart,  and  it  never  failed  to  produce  an 
impression  upon  the  hearers. 

Before  his  conversion  Mr.  Judson  grieved  for  his 
mother's  death,  and  felt  that  he  could  not  be  re- 
conciled to  it.  But  after  that  event  there  was  in 
this  respect  a  marked  change  in  his  feelings. 
"  Now,"  said  he,  "  I  can  see  the  hand  of  God  in 
her  death."  He  doubtless  felt  that  it  had  been 
made,  under  God,  a  means  of  bringing  him  to  re- 
pentance. He  connected  himself  with  the  Church 
in  Woodbury  in  January  1822,  along  with  thir- 
teen others. 

After  his  conversion  he  was  very  useful  in  form- 
ing the  habits  of  the  younger  children  of  the  fam- 
ily. In  the  temperance  cause  he  was  very  decided 
and  thorough-going.  So  early  as  1821,  in  the 
very  dawn  of  the  temperance  reformation,  and  be- 
fore the  formation  of  any  temperance  organization, 
he  told  his  brothers  that  he  should  positively  re- 
fuse to  go  into  the  field  with  them,  if  they  carried 
to  their  work  ardent  spirits.  This  is  the  more  no- 
ticeable because  his  father  never  came  into  the 
principles  of  total  abstinence. 

In  the  winter  of  1821-2,  Mr.  Judson,  having 
then  but  recently  made  a  profession  of  his  faith  in 
Christ,  was  employed  to  teach  a  school  in  Sher- 
3 


26 


MEMOIR  OF 


man,  Ct.  One  who  was  a  member  of  the  school 
has  furnished  the  following  statement  concerning 
him. 

"  It  was  a  large  school,  and  many  of  the  scholars 
were  well  advanced.  I  was  not  at  that  time  a 
professor  of  religion,  but  his  earnest,  sincere  efforts 
for  the  spiritual  good  of  his  pupils  made  a  deep 
impression  on  my  mind.  In  this  respect  he  went 
farther  than  such  labors  had  ever  been  carried  be- 
fore. His  religious  feelings  manifested  themselves 
in  his  earnest,  affectionate  prayers  for  the  conver- 
sion of  his  pupils.  On  Saturday  afternoons,  in 
connection  with  the  Catechism,  his  exhortations 
were  very  solemn  and  earnest.  On  one  occasion 
he  requested  all  who  felt  an  interest  in  the  prayer 
which  he  was  about  to  offer  to  kneel.  But  one 
pupil  complied  with  the  request^  yet  the  impres- 
sion was  deep.  The  language  of  bis  prayers  was 
so  peculiar,  so  earnest  and  importunate,  that  it 
was  a  common  topic  of  conversation  among  the 
boys.  These  prayers  were  often  accompanied  with 
many  tears.* 

"  In  teaching,  he  was  careful  to  mix  in  with 
his  instructions  interesting  anecdotes.  Every  les- 
son in  geography  he  made  interesting  in  this  way. 
His  instruction  was  of  a  high  order,  calculated  to 
leave  a  stirring  impression  on  the  mind.  He  spent 
but  one  winter  there.  I  have  ever  looked  back  to 
it  as  the  most  interesting  winter  of  my  life.  He 

*  Throughout  the  whole  of  his  ministry,  his  prayers  had  a  peculiarly 
fervid  and  impressive  character. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


27 


differed  from  all  my  other  teachers  in  the  practical 
character  of  his  instructions." 

Those  who,  many  years  afterwards,  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  attending  Mr.  Judson's  Bible  Classes, 
will  understand  well  what  is  meant  by  his  "  mix- 
ing in  with  his  instructions  interesting  anecdotes." 
He  had  a  rare  faculty  of  bringing  in  illustrations 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  exactly  in  point. 
In  this  respeet  the  schoolmaster  in  Sherman  was 
the  same  person  as  the  pastor  in  Milan. 


CHAPTER  II. 


HIS    PREPARATION    FOR    THE    MINISTRY,  INCLUDING 
HIS   COLLEGIATE   AND   THEOLOGICAL  COURSE. 

Soon  after  his  conversion,  Mr.  Judson  turned 
his  thoughts  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and,  with 
a  view  to  this,  he  began,  in  the  spring  of  1822,  to 
prepare  for  entering  College.  That  his  desire  to 
obtain  a  liberal  education  had  reference  entirely  to 
the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  So  his  father  and  friends  always  under- 
stood it.  Yet  it  is  true  that,  during  his  college 
course,  he  expressed  doubts  whether  he  was  called 
of  God  to  this  work.  A  friend,  who  knew  him 
intimately  at  that  time,  says,  that,  during  his  senior 
year,  he  came  very  near  deciding  to  be  a  physician. 
His  argument  was,  that  he  should  be  "so  dull  as 
a  preacher,  and  accomplish  so  little  in  the  minis- 
try." Upon  conversing  with  his  father  on  the  sub- 
ject, the  old  gentleman  replied,  "  You  know,  Ever- 
ton,  what  sacrifices  I  have  made  in  educating  you 
for  this  very  object.  And  now  I  feel  that  all  I 
have  done  for  you  is  lost."    As  his  father  said  this 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


29 


he  wept.  Everton  was  much  moved,  and  told  him 
that  he  would  make  the  trial. 

His  preparation  for  College  was  so  hurried  and 
imperfect  that  he  lost  much  of  the  benefit  of  the 
college  course.  He  commenced  his  studies,  as  al- 
ready remarked,  in  the  spring  of  1822,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1823  he  entered  the  Sophomore  class  in 
Yale  College,  having  occupied  only  a  year  and  a 
half  in  the  work  of  preparation.  To  go  through 
all  the  preparatory  studies,  with  those  of  the 
Freshman  year,  in  this  period  of  time,  with  accu- 
racy and  thoroughness,  was  impossible.  Several 
books  of  the  classical  course  he  omitted,  and  the 
rest  he  read  superficially.  By  this  hurried  and  in- 
adequate preparation  he  not  only  lost  almost  en- 
tirely the  benefit  of  the  classical  course  in  College, 
but,  as  was  quite  natural,  passed  through  the  The- 
ological Seminary  afterwards  without  gaining  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  original  languages  of 
Scripture.  Of  this  defective  preparation  for  Col- 
lege, he  ever  spoke  as  a  great  calamity,  and  one 
which  followed  him  during  the  whole  of  his  min- 
isterial life ;  and  he  was  in  the  habit  of  warning 
young  students  against  committing  the  like  error. 

One  who  knew  him  intimately,  studied  with 
him  in  preparing  for  College,  and  was  his  room- 
mate throughout  the  three  years  of  his  college  life, 
bears  the  following  testimony  on  this  point.  "  The 
truth  is  his  college  course  was  almost  ruined  by 
the  deficiency  of  his  preparation  to  enter  College. 
We  studied  together  one  year,  (he  had  been  study- 
3* 


30 


MEMOIR  OP 


ing  by  himself  a  few  months  previously,)  and  then 
we  entered  the  Sophomore  class,  not  half  fitted. 
I  can  say,  without  a  metaphor,  I  have  often  looked 
back  upon  my  college  course,  and  regarded  it  as 
almost  entirely  lost  by  my  miserable  mistake  of 
hurrying  over  my  preparation  so  hastily  ;  and  I  am 
satisfied  that  if  Mr.  Judson  had  been  more  care- 
fully fitted  to  enter,  especially  in  the  languages, 
he  would  have  ranked  among  the  first  of  his  class. 
I  do  not  believe  that  in  our  class  of  one  hundred, 
there  were  ten  persons  who  equaled  him,  either  in 
talents  or  application." 

One  reason  of  his  crowding  his  preparatory 
studies  into  so  narrow  a  space,  seems  to  have  been 
his  father's  straitened  circumstances.  Several 
years  before,  in  1816,  when  his  means  were  more 
at  his  command,  he  had  offered  to  give  Everton  a 
liberal  education,  but  the  offer  had  been  at  that 
time  declined.  Now,  when  the  son  had  changed 
his  mind,  the  father's  property  was  not  in  such  a 
shape  as  to  be  easily  made  available  for  the  pur- 
poses of  an  education.  To  his  intimate  friends 
his  struggles  with  poverty  during  his  college 
course  were  well  known. 

In  College,  Mr.  Judson  ever  maintained  the 
character  of  a  sincere  and  consistent  Christian. 
"  I  remember  him,"  says  the  same  class-mate  and 
room-mate  whose  words  have  been  c|uoted  above, 
"as  an  active,  useful  Christian,  during  a  revival 
which  occurred  in  College.  Religion  with  him 
was  not  a  periodical  or  spasmodic  affection.  He 


EVERTON  JUDSON, 


31 


always,  I  think,  cultivated  and  maintained  the 
spirit  of  prayer;  and  was  always  seeking  to  be 
useful.  At  one  time  we  were  both  complaining 
of  low  spirits,  and  he  quoted,  'taedet  me  vitae  ' — 
'  life  wearies  me ' — and  I  said  something  in  reply 
of' a  lodge  in  some  vast  wilderness.'  He  imme- 
diately added,  '  Yes,  it  would  do,  if  one  had  a  hea- 
then to  instruct,  or  some  way  of  being  useful.' 
I  mention  this  incident,  because  it  impressed  me 
deeply  with  the  spirit  of  the  man  ;  for  surely  noth- 
ing was  further  from  my  thoughts,  in  that  hour  of 
despondency;  than  the  idea  of  usefulness  :  and  this 
spirit  he  manifested,  I  think,  in  a  somewhat  re- 
markable degree,  throughout  life." 

In  steady,  consistent  piety,  and  desire  for  use- 
fulness, he  was  the  same  man  in  College  as  after- 
wards in  the  ministry.  Those  who  knew  him  only 
in  the  latter  capacity  may  naturally  enough  con- 
ceive of  him  as  taking  the  same  bold  and  open 
attitude,  and  exerting  the  same  commanding  in- 
fluence. If  so,  they  will  be  very  wide  from  the 
truth.  In  this  respect,  Mr.  Judson  on  the  Western 
Reserve  was  exceedingly  unlike  Mr.  Judson  in 
College.  One  who  was  associated  with  him  af- 
terwards in  the  Theological  Seminary,  has  well 
said,  "  You  will  inquire  in  vain  of  that  period  for 
the  unfolding  of  his  character.  His  college  and 
seminary  life  was  comparatively  obscure.  He 
shrank  from  any  public  exhibition  of  himself  or 
his  talents."  He  was  to  a  most  remarkable  extent 
diffident  and  retiring.    He  never,  on  any  occasion, 


MEMOIR  OF 


put  himself  forth  prominently  in  his  class;  never 
rose  to  address  a  religious  meeting;  never  took 
part  in  the  debates  of  any  literary  society;  never 
so  much  as  declaimed  in  his  turn  before  the  Col- 
lege. The  writer  of  this  memoir  well  remembers 
his  detailing  to  him  one  evening,  as  he  sat  with 
him  in  his  parlor  in  Milan,  the  way  which  he  took 
to  escape  this  to  him  extremely  unpleasant  exhibi- 
tion of  himself  in  public.  His  plan  was  that  of 
engaging  substitutes  to  fill  his  place,  who,  when 
their  own  turn  came  round,  quietly  appeared  for 
themselves  also  the  second  time.  This  was  un- 
doubtedly unwise  as  well  as  wrong.  It  is  not 
mentioned  here  as  a  thing  to  be  approved,  but 
simply  as  a  historic  fact  illustrative  of  his  diffi- 
dence. 

If  any  are  surprised  at  these  statements,  let 
them  remember  that,  if  Mr.  Judson  was  a  very 
energetic  and  decided  man,  he  was  also  a  very 
sensitive  man  ;  and  a  man,  too,  whose  ideal  of  a 
public  performance  was  very  high,  while  he  was 
conscious  of  his  inability  to  come  up  to  it  in  exe- 
cution. This  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  he  was 
a  very  diffident  man  ;  for  great  sensitiveness  and  a 
high  standard  of  excellence,  with  the  conscious  in- 
ability of  reaching  it,  and,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, the  apprehension  of  exposing  one's  self, 
by  a  failure,  to  disparaging  remarks,  are  the  ele- 
ments which  go  to  make  up  diffidence.  It  should 
be  considered,  too,  that  in  College,  with  a  misera- 
ble preparation,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  daily 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


33 


brought  into  contact  with  those  who  had  enjoyed 
much  higher  advantages  of  training  than  his  own, 
and  were  consequently  able  to  appear  to  much 
better  advantage.  This,  though  in  reality  a  high 
privilege,  unfortunately  exerted  upon  his  spirits  a 
depressing  influence,  and  kept  him  back  from  all 
public  performances.  His  subsequent  mastery  of 
this  diffidence  is  nothing  very  unusual  or  surpri- 
sing. It  often  happens  to  men  of  great  energy  and 
force  of  character,  that  when,  under  the  impulse  of 
some  strong  moral  feeling,  they  once  break  through 
their  native  bashfulness,  they  are  able  to  fill  the 
most  public  stations  without  embarrassment.  Nay 
more,  the  very  determination  to  overcome  their 
feelings  of  diffidence  seems  to  impart  to  them  a 
peculiar  warmth  and  impetuosity  of  spirit. 

What  has  been  said  of  his  collegiate  life  holds 
good  of  the  two  years  which,  after  his  graduation, 
he  spent  in  the  Theological  School  of  Yale  Col- 
lege. "  If  I  remember  aright,"  says  the  same  as- 
sociate in  the  Theological  Seminary,  "he  seldom 
or  ever  read  a  dissertation  before  the  theological 
class.  He  was  accustomed  to  borrow  the  profes- 
sors' lectures,  and  take  the  heads  after  reading, 
and  sometimes  make  copious  extracts,  and  even 
copy  whole  lectures,  for  his  own  use  in  his  study, 
but  he  made  no  show  of  his  labor.  He  was  a  dili- 
gent, regular  student,  retiring  in  his  manners,  seek- 
ing obscurity  ;  or  rather  remaining  in  that  obscur- 
ity which  his  natural  diffidence  had  thrown  over 
him." 


34 


MEMOIR  OF 


But  neither  in  the  College  nor  the  Seminary 
was  Mr.  Judson's  life  devoid  of  religious  activity. 
His  earnest,  ardent  spirit,  could  not  rest  without 
some  field  of  usefulness.  Such  a  field  he  sought 
and  found,  humble  but  blessed,  and  removed  from 
the  notice  of  his  fellow  students.  With  one  of  his 
class-mates,  the  Rev.  E.  Barber,  he  engaged  in  the 
work  of  giving  instruction  in  the  Sabbath  school 
of  colored  children  belonging  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joce- 
lyn's  congregation.  This  was  in  his  junior  year.  In 
this  school  he  continued  during  the  whole  time  of 
his  residence  in  New  Haven.  It  was  also  his  custom 
to  go  out  with  the  same  companion  among  the 
neighborhoods  of  colored  families  in  and  around 
New  Haven.  From  a  pocket  Bible,  which  he  al- 
ways carried,  he  read  to  them,  prayed  with  them, 
and,  whenever  a  proper  opportunity  presented  it- 
self, urged  the  parents  to  send  their  children  to  the 
Sabbath  school.  "  I  remember  one  Sabbath  after- 
noon," says  one,  "  he  invited  me  to  go  with  him 
to  visit  some  colored  families  down  in  the  New 
Township,  as  it  was  called,  and  as  we  passed  from 
house  to  house  for  religious  conversation,  I  well 
remember  they  greeted  him  kindly,  as  one  with 
whom  they  were  well  acquainted,  and  he  seemed 
also  well  acquainted  with  their  spiritual  condition. 
I  am  not  aware  that  he  ever  sought  the  society  of 
the  wealthy,  the  refined,  or  the  fashionable,  during 
his  residence  in  New  Haven,  but,  by  his  unobtru- 
sive course  of  useful  labor,  he  had  the  esteem  and 
the  confidence  of  some  of  the  best  citizens." 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


35 


In  his  senior  year  he  taught  an  evening  school 
of  colored  children,  under  the  room  then  occupied 
by  the  Brothers'  Society.  This  he  was  at  some 
pains  to  keep  private,  probably  from  the  appre- 
hension of  molestation  from  such  of  his  fellow  stu- 
dents as  had  no  sympathy  with  his  efforts.  For 
this  work  he  received  a  compensation. 

Upon  entering  the  Theological  School  imme- 
diately after  his  graduation,  he  attended,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  other  labors  for  the  colored  people,  a 
Thursday  evening  meeting  of  the  nature  of  a  Bible 
class,  composed  mostly  of  young  colored  women 
at  service  in  families.  There  were  generally 
twenty  or  thirty  present.  The  order  of  exercises 
was  singing,  prayer,  and  the  exposition  of  a  pas- 
sage of  Scripture  in  that  style  of  familiar  illustra- 
tion in  which  he  always  excelled.  This  exercise 
he  continued  during  the  two  years  of  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Seminary. 

All  the  above  labors  for  the  spiritual  good  of  the 
colored  people  were  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Jocelyn,  the  pastor  of  the  coloi-ed  congregation. 
In  this  respect  he  was  always  punctilious  ;  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  express  his  decided  disapproba- 
tion of  the  course  pursued  by  some  theological 
students,  who  allowed  themselves  in  the  habit  of 
making  appointments  within  the  fields  of  stated 
pastors,  without  seeking  their  advice  and  direc- 
tion. 

He  was  also,  when  a  theological  student,  in  the 
habit  of  going  out  on  Sabbath  evenings  into  the 


36 


MEMOIR  OF 


neighborhoods  and  villages  around  New  Haven, 
to  hold  religious  meetings,  generally  in  company 
with  some  layman  of  standing  in  the  city.  The 
time  was  occupied  with  singing,  prayer,  and  ex- 
hortation. He  spoke  to  great  acceptance,  always 
taking  care  (as  he  did  ever  afterwards)  to  make 
himself  understood  by  the  people  present.  There 
was  hardly  a  week,  from  the  commencement  of 
his  junior  year,  in  which  he  was  not  engaged  in 
active  efforts  for  the  spiritual  good  of  others,  more 
especially  of  the  colored  people.  All  these  labors 
were  conducted  in  a  still  and  noiseless  way.  To 
the  author,  though  his  class-mate  and  a  member 
of  the  church,  they  were  utterly  unknown,  as  he 
presumes  they  were  to  all  the  rest  of  his  fellow 
students  except  a  select  few. 

His  motive,  in  these  labors  among  the  more  ob- 
scure part  of  the  community,  was  doubtless  the 
simple  desire  of  doing  good.  At  the  same  time 
he  probably  hoped  to  overcome  in  this  way  that 
diffidence  which  had  so  far  kept  him  back  before 
his  fellow  students,  and  thus  to  qualify  himself  for 
more  extended  usefulness.  He  had  a  strong  de- 
sire to  do  good,  bnt  was  doubtful  whether  he 
should  succeed — an  apprehension  which  he  not 
unfrcquently  expressed — and  he  preferred  to  make 
trial  of  his  powers  in  this  humble  way.  "  The 
first  time,"  says  the  friend  last  quoted,  "  that  I 
heard  him  address  an  audience  was  at  a  Sabbath 
evening  meeting  in  Derby.  Though  I  do  not  re- 
member the  order  of  his  remarks,  yet  I  shall  al- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


37 


ways  remember  the  theme,  and  the  interest  with 
which  I  heard  him.  He  exhibited  God  in  the 
character  of  a  Father.  He  drew  especially  the 
parental  character  of  his  moral  government.  He 
spoke  with  much  feeling  himself,  and,  if  I  may 
judge  from  my  own  interest  at  the  time,  he  inter- 
ested those  who  heard  him.  It  was  with  him  a 
favorite  theme,  and  I  was  interested  not  only  with 
the  theme  and  the  manner,  but  it  may  be  more 
with  witnessing  so  unexpected  and  happy  an  ex- 
hibition of  his  talent  for  popular  address.  From 
that  time  I  never  feared  for  his  success  as  a  pub- 
lic speaker." 


4 


CHAPTER  III. 


HIS  LICENSURE  AND  SABBATH  SCHOOL  AGENCY. 


At  the  close  of  his  second  year  in  the  Seminary, 
Mr.  Judson,  with  others  of  his  class,  was  licensed 
to  preach  the  gospel.  Finding  it  necessary  to  en- 
gage in  some  employment  which  should  furnish 
him  the  funds  of  which  he  stood  in  need,  he  pro- 
posed to  Mr.  Eldad  Barber,  his  class-mate  in  both 
the  College  and  the  Seminary,  and  who  was  un- 
der the  like  necessity  with  himself,  that  they 
should  undertake  a  Sabbath  School  Agency  for 
the  West.  At  this  time  there  was  in  the  Seminary, 
as  well  as  generally  among  the  patrons  and  friends 
of  Home  Missions  and  Sabbath  Schools,  an  in- 
creased interest  for  the  West,  and  missionaries  for 
both  these  departments  of  benevolence  were  in  de- 
mand. A  Committee  of  the  American  Home 
Missionary  Society,  of  whom  the  then  Corres- 
ponding Secretary,  Rev.  Absalom  Peters,  was  one, 
had  recently  visited  the  Seminary  to  present  the 
claims  of  Home  Missions.  It  was  about  this  pe- 
riod also  that  the  movement  commenced,  which 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


39 


resulted  in  the  establishment  of  Illinois  College. 
In  this  general  sympathy  for  the  West  Mr.  Judson 
shared  largely.  But,  instead  of  immediately  en- 
tering upon  the  work  of  Home  Missions — a  work 
in  which  we  shall  hereafter  see  him  embarked — 
he  preferred  first  to  undertake  a  Sabbath  School 
Agency.  The  warm  interest  which  he  had  always 
manifested  in  Sabbath  Schools  was  one  motive 
that  determined  him  in  this  direction.  He  was 
also,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  anxious  to  begin 
with  some  field  of  labor  less  embarrassing  to  him 
than  the  pastoral  charge,  which  should,  at  the 
same  time,  furnish  an  opportunity  of  exploring  the 
West  as  a  prospective  field  of  missionary  labor. 

In  accordance  with  Mr.  Judson's  suggestion  to 
Mr.  Barber,  the  two  friends  offered  their  services 
to  the  American  Sunday  School  Union,  which 
were  accepted. 

In  a  letter  to  his  father,  written  from  New  Ha- 
ven and  announcing  this  appointment  to  a  Sab- 
bath School  Agency,  he  says,  "  There  is  a  great 
and  desolate  field  at  the  West,  where  multitudes 
are  perishing  through  lack  of  a  ministration  of  the 
gospel.  This  agency  will  afford  me  good  oppor- 
tunity to  survey  the  ground  and  see  where  is  the 
best  field  for  usefulness.  My  prevailing  opinion 
at  present  is  that,  by  the  permission  of  a  kind 
Providence,  I  shall  ultimately  plant  my  feet  be- 
yond the  Mississippi  river,  and,  most  probably,  in 
the  State  of  Missouri.  You  will  say  to  me,  '  You 
will  be  exposing  yourself  to  innumerable  trials  and 


40 


MEMOIR  OF 


privations.'  Probably  I  shall,  but  still  I  do  not 
allow  them  to  occupy  my  mind.  Matth.  vi.  34,* 
furnishes  me  with  all  I  wish  for  on  this  subject, 
especially  when  taken  in  connection  with  Matth. 
xxviii.  20,f  and  2  Cor.  xii.  9.J  My  greatest,  and  I 
can  almost  say,  my  only  trial  on  this  subject  is 
that  I  must  leave  four  members  of  our  family  pro- 
fessedly destitute  of  any  saving  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  This  grieves  me  to  the  heart.  I  say  it 
most  sincerely,  it  is  my  greatest  grief.  Not  that  I 
can  save  them  by  remaining  with  them.  Perhaps, 
my  bad  example  gone  from  their  sight,  they  will 
be  more  likely  to  repent.  But  still  the  thought  of 
parting  for  eternity — it  is  too  painful — I  will  not 
dwell  upon  it." 

In  the  beginning  of  October  Mr.  Judson  and 
Mr.  Barber  repaired  to  Philadelphia  to  receive 
their  commission,  outfit,  and  instructions.  They 
spent  a  week  in  Philadelphia,  during  which  time 
Mr.  Judson  visited  a  number  of  public  institutions, 
and  was  an  attentive  observer,  entering  in  his 
journal  his  remarks  on  what  he  saw  and  heard. 
Under  date  of  Thursday,  Oct.  8th,  occurs  the  fol- 
lowing: "  The  Committee  met  this  afternoon,  and 
decided  on  sending  us  to  Nashville,  Tennessee." 
Had  this  decision  been  carried  out,  it  might  have 

*  Take  therefore  no  thought  for  the  morrow  :  for  the  morrow  shall 
take  thought  for  the  things  of  itself.  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the 
evil  thereof. 

1  Lo,  I  am  wilh  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 
J  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  :  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in 
weakness. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


41 


materially  altered  the  history  of  both  these  breth- 
ren. But  the  next  day  he  mentions  a  different,  ar- 
rangement ; — "  On  account  of  intelligence  that  the 
Ohio  river  is  so  low  as  not  to  be  navigable,  our 
destination  was  to-day  changed  from  Tennessee 
to  the  Southern  part  of  Ohio.  Determined  to  com- 
mence our  journey  tomorrow."  Accordingly  the 
next  day  they  set  out  for  Wheeling,  Va.,  and  from 
that  point  entered  their  field  Saturday,  Oct.  18, 
1828. 

Their  first  plan  was  to  labor  separately.  Mr. 
Judson  went  down  the  Ohio  river,  and  Mr.  Barber 
north.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Barber  he  describes,  with 
some  humor,  his  first  entrance  upon  his  field,  and 
the  fruitless  attempts  which  he  made  to  find  an 
opportunity  of  presenting  his  subject.  To  him,  as 
has  been  the  case  with  many  others,  it  happened 
that  the  chief  difficulty  was  to  obtain  the  first 
hearing.  After  riding  all  day  on  Saturday,  he 
called  on  the  man  to  whom  he  had  been  directed, 
and  told  him  his  business.  "  He  very  drily  re- 
marked that  I  might  call  on  Mr.  A.,  (who  was,  by 
the  way,  near  half  a  mile  from  the  main  road,) 
and  if  he  thought  I  had  better  stay  with  them  over 
the  Sabbath,  I  might  come  back  to  stay  at  his 
house."  Mr.  A.  received  him  with  a  good  degree 
of  cordiality,  but  informed  him  that  an  Agent  had 
been  there,  and  had  done  all  that  could  be  done 
on  the  subject  of  Sabbath  Schools.  Accordingly 

he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  on  to  M  , 

where  he  arrived  about  an  hour  after  dark,  calling 
4* 


42 


MEMOIR  OF 


there  by  the  advice  of  Mr.  A          on  Dr.  G  , 

who  sent  him  to  the  tavern  for  a  lodging.  But 
here  he  could  obtain  no  promise  of  an  audience, 
or  help  in  collecting  one.  "  I  requested,"  he  says, 
"of  the  landlord  permission  to  preach,  and  that 
notice  should  be  forwarded  through  the  village. 
To  this  he  would  not  consent,  claiming  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  give  notice."    So  the  next 

morning,  he  started  for  the   Rev.  Mr.  C  's 

parish  about  ten  miles  distant,  but  learned  on  the 
way  that  his  Church  was  shut  in  consequence  of 
his  being  absent  at  Synod  on  the  Sabbath.  He 
next  turned  off  into  a  corner  of  the  parish  where 

he  learned  that  a  Mr.  W  was  to  preach,  and 

arrived  just  as  the  meeting  was  about  commencing. 
Mr.  W.,  on  reading  his  commission,  and  hearing 
his  business,  consented  to  give  him  his  place  ;  but 
one  of  the  audience  rose  and  stated  that  he  had 

come  ten  or  fifteen  miles  to  hear  Mr.  W  

preach ;  that  they  had  all  assembled  for  the  pur- 
pose of  hearing  him,  and  that  the  disappointment 
would  be  too  great.  "  Again,"  says  Mr.  Judson, 
"my  hopes  were  dashed:  I  bit  my  lips  and  re- 
mained silent."  "  But,  after  sermon,"  he  says,  "  I 
requested  the  people  to  have  a  few  minutes  inter- 
mission and  hear  me  preach.  They  all  staid.  The 
house  was  crowded.  I  preached  from  Prov.  xxii.  6, 
"  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,"  etc. 

The  best  part  of  Mr.  C  's  Church  were  present, 

on  account  of  there  being  no  meeting  in  their  own 
house.    The  scale  was  now  turned :  I  received 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


43 


many  warm  invitations  for  the  night.  They  had 
not  attempted  a  Sabbath  School  here.  I  remained 
two  days,  visited  nearly  all  the  families,  collected 
a  Sabbath  School  of  about  fifty,  and  near  $20  for 
a  library." 

After  this  Mr.  Judson  had  no  further  difficulty. 
The  ice  was  effectually  broken.  The  people  had 
found  out  that  he  was  a  preacher  to  some  purpose, 
and  he  found  openings  enough  in  every  direction. 

In  January  1829  Mr.  Judson  and  Mr.  Barber 
met  in  Zanesville.  Being  now  fully  convinced 
that  they  could  operate  together  with  more  effi- 
ciency, they  adopted,  after  mature  deliberation, 
the  following  plan.  As  they  were  about  closing 
up  their  labors  in  a  county,  one  of  them  went 
forward  as  a  pioneer  to  the  principal  seat  of  reli- 
gious influence  in  the  adjoining  county,  and  made 
arrangements  thera,  in  connection  with  the  minis- 
ters and  churches,  for  the  public  presentalion  of 
the  subject  at  designated  times  in  all  those  places 
where  it  was  believed  that  a  Sabbath  School  So- 
ciety could  be  organized  and  sustained.  Notices 
of  these  appointments  were  duly  forwarded  to  the 
several  places.  The  Agent  now  returned,  and 
communicated  to  his  colleague  the  arrangement; 
after  which  they  divided  the  county  between 
themselves,  taking  different  routes,  and  fulfilling 
the  designated  appointments.  In  going  through  a 
county  their  general  plan  was  to  present  the  cause 
publicly  at  a  given  place  in  the  evening,  and  cir- 
culate a  constitution  previously  prepared,  with  a 


44 


MEMOIR  OF 


subscription  list  attached  to  it.  This  they  did  for 
the  double  purpose  of  obtaining  signatures  to  the 
constitution  and  subscriptions  for  a  Sabbath  School 
library.  They  also  generally  recommended  that 
delegates  should  be  appointed  to  attend  a  general 
central  meeting  to  be  held  at  the  close  of  the  ef- 
fort in  the  county.  They  spent  as  much  of  the 
next  day  in  visiting  the  families  of  the  vicinity  as 
was  consistent  with  the  fulfilment  of  the  next 
evening's  appointment;  for  they  generally  had  an 
appointment  for  every  evening.  "  We  labored 
hard,"  says  Mr.  Barber,  "beyond  our  strength,  as 
we  were  afterwards  fully  convinced,  feeling  that 
every  day  was  precious." 

When  the  way  had  been  thus  prepared,  the 
general  central  meeting  was  held.  This  was  by 
day-light  and  in  a  church.  Both  attended,  and 
endeavored  to  make  the  most  of  the  occasion. 
A  county  Sunday  School  Union  was  formed,  to 
which  the  separate  Sunday  School  organizations 
had  been,  by  way  of  anticipation,  made  auxilia- 
ries. This  was  a  well  digested  plan,  and  under  it 
they  found  themselves  able  to  accomplish  four  or 
five  times  as  much  in  a  given  period  as  before, 
when  they  operated  separately. 

The  fact  has  already  been  noticed  that  it  enter- 
ed into  the  plan  of  their  neighborhood  evening 
meetings  to  take  up  subscriptions  for  Sunday 
School  libraries.  In  this  way  a  large  number  of 
libraries  was  established.  Mr.  Judson's  journal 
abounds  in  such   notices   as   the   following : — 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


45 


"  Preached  in  the  evening,  organized  a  S.  S.,  raised 
$25  for  a  library,  with  a  prospect  of  some  in- 
crease " — "  preached  and  organized  a  S.  S.  Socie- 
ty, with  $23  subscribed  for  a  library  " — "  a  sub- 
scription was  commenced  with  a  prospect  of  ob- 
taining $75  for  a  library."  This  latter  subscrip- 
tion, which  was  at  Lancaster,  far  exceeds  the  usual 
average ;  which,  for  forty-five  societies,  is  about 
$17.  At  the  County  meeting  for  Muskingum, 
held  in  Putnam,  he  states  that  "  Reports  were  made 
from  all  the  Societies  formed,  and  $220  paid  over 
to  the  County  Treasurer,  to  be  forwarded  to  Phila- 
delphia for  a  library."  At  a  similar  meeting  for 
Licking,  held  in  Granville,  "delegates  were  pre- 
sent from  twelve  of  the  fourteen  places  visited  in 
the  county,  and  $215  were  reported  for  libraries. 
Granville,  having  been  visited  yesterday,  had  not 
yet  made  up  its  collection,  and  several  of  the 
places  visited  last  intend  to  add  to  the  amount  re- 
ported. The  whole  amount  for  the  County  will 
probably  be  not  far  from  $250."  At  Mansfield, 
upon  the  organization  of  the  County  Union, 
"  more  than  $100  were  reported  from  the  Schools 
formed,  although  several  of  the  Schools  did  not 
report." 

It  was  their  aim  to  make  the  Schools  which 
they  organized  auxiliary  to  the  American  Sunday 
School  Union  ;  but,  in  this  respect,  they  pursued 
a  liberal  and  catholic  policy.  This  policy  Mr. 
Judson  thus  indicates  in  the  letter  to  Mr.  Barber 
from  which  some  extracts  have  already  been  made  : 


4(5 


MEMOIR  OF 


"  Where  there  are  Methodists,  I  advise  them  to 
belong  to  the  Methodist  Union.  Where  Metho- 
dists and  Presbyterians  are  mixed  in  a  school  they 
are  divided  on  the  question  [of  becoming  auxi- 
liary,] and  here  I  advise  them  to  become  auxiliary 
to  no  Union."  This  relates  to  the  time  of  the 
separate  operation  of  the  two  brethren. 

It  appears  from  Mr.  Judson's  letters  and  journal 
that  he  also  distributed  Tracts  and  Magazines  to 
some  extent.  On  one  page  of  his  journal  occurs 
the  following  anecdote.  "While  passing  along 
the  road,  saw  two  small  boys  drawing  home  corn 
on  a  chair  leaned  back.  They  lived  in  a  cabin 
near  by.  Asked  the  eldest  (eight  or  ten  years  of 
age)  if  he  could  read. 

'  No  Sir,  I  am  not  old  enough  to  learn  to  read.' 

1  Can  your  mother  read  ?' 

'  Yes.' 

'  Will  you  give  her  this  tract  ?' 
4  Yes  Sir,  but  may  I  not  have  it  to  learn  to  read 
in  ?' 

'  Yes,  and  I  will  give  one  to  your  brother.' 
'  I  think  you  must  be  a  religious  man,  Sir.' 
'  Why  ? ' 

1  Because  you  are  so  clever  as  to  give  us  books. 
Thank  you,  Sir,  for  the  books.' 

I  rode  on  much  delighted  with  the  simplicity 
and  the  gratitude  of  the  boy." 

In  this  agency  they  continued  together  until 
March,  five  months.  But  Mr.  Judson's  health 
sunk  under  the  labor  and  exposure  of  the  service. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


47 


Traveling,  and  the  irregularity  of  diet  connected 
with  it,  always  disagreed  with  him.  That,  he 
might  enjoy  good  health  he  needed  a  settled  and 
regular  mode  of  life.  He  retired  from  his  Agency 
to  Marietta,  where  he  was  confined  by  sickness 
some  six  or  eight  weeks.  His  last  entry  in  his 
journal  is  the  following: 

"Aggregate  [of  travel]  2,070  miles;  add  120 
miles  on  the  Ohio  river  in  steamboat — total  2,190. 
Aggregate  of  sermons  preached  127." 

This  was  a  hard  winter's  work  ;  but  one  which 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  many  Sunday 
Schools,  the  resuscitation  of  some  which  were 
languishing,  and  the  introduction  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  valuable  libraries.  In  the  judgment  with 
which  it  was  planned,  and  the  energy  and  success 
with  which  it  was  executed  the  discerning  eye 
could  discover  the  blossoms  of  that  abundant  har- 
vest of  usefulness  which  followed. 

Mr.  Barber,  having  completed  a  longer  term  of 
service,  met  Mr.  Judson  at  Marietta,  and,  as  soon 
as  the  state  of  his  health  would  permit,  set  out 
with  him  for  home.  On  this  journey  he  suffered 
greatly  from  ill  health  and  depression  of  spirits. 

The  summer  of  1829  he  spent  in  Connecticut, 
preaching  in  various  places.  He  had  not  yet  re- 
covered from  the  shock  which  his  constitution  had 
received  in  Ohio,  but  continued  feeble  and  sub- 
ject to  extreme  depression  of  spirits.  It  was  upon 
one  of  these  occasions  that  he  wrote  the  sermon 
so  often  referred  to  afterwards  by  himself  as  emi- 


48 


MEMOIR  OF 


nently  blessed  by  God,  from  the  text,  "  I  shall  be 
satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness."  Re- 
specting this  sermon  he  repeatedly  averred  that  he 
had  the  impression  while  preparing  it  that  he 
should  die  in  preaching  it;  and  that  he  selected 
that  theme  because  he  thought  that  it  would  be  a 
pleasant  one  to  die  upon.  This  impression  fol- 
lowed him  on  Saturday  as  he  left  his  home  in 
Woodbury,  so  much  so  that  he  regretted  not  hav- 
ing left  with  his  friends  a  notice  of  his  expected 
decease.  It  continued  through  all  the  services 
until  he  had  become  warm  in  preaching,  when  it 
was  forgotten.  This  extraordinary  incident  may 
serve  to  shed  light  on  some  passages  in  his  history 
afterwards,  when,  under  the  influence  of  gloomy 
impressions,  he  took  false  views  of  things,  and  did 
not  act  in  accordance  with  his  usual  sound  judg- 
ment ;  as,  for  example,  when,  more  than  once,  he 
handed  in  to  the  deacons  of  the  Church  in  Milan 
his  resignation  on  the  ground  that  his  usefulness 
in  the  congregation  was  at  an  end. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


HIS    LOCATION    IN    MILAN,    WITH    AN    ACCOUNT  OF 
HIS  LABORS   IN  BERLIN. 

"  A  man's  heart  deviseth  his  way  :  but  the  Lord 
directeth  his  steps," — is  a  maxim  of  Holy  Writ 
which  was  strikingly  illustrated  in  Mr.  Judson's 
case.  In  the  summer  of  1829  he  offered  himself 
as  a  missionary  to  the  American  Home  Mission- 
ary Society,  and  was  ordained  in  Woodbury  by 
the  Litchfield  South  Association,  in  company  with 
seven  other  young  men,  of  whom  Mr.  Eldad  Bar- 
ber was  one.  Immediately  after  the  Commence- 
ment in  Yale  College,  he  and  Mr.  Barber  set  out 
together  for  Ohio,  with  a  commission  for  Marion 
county,  but  a  chain  of  circumstances  ordered  in 
God's  providence  led  Mr.  Judson  to  Milan,  and 
eventually  brought  his  associate  to  the  same  place. 
On  the  steamboat  at  New  York,  the  two  compan- 
ions met  the  Rev.  Xenophon  Betts,  who  was  on 
his  return,  with  his  wife,  to  Wakeman  in  Huron 
county,  where  he  had  been  installed  as  pastor  the 
previous  spring.  In  company  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
5 


50 


MEMOIR  OF 


Betts  was  also  Mrs.  Lockwood,  a  lady  of  Milan, 
since  deceased  ;  and,  as  they  took  the  slow  method 
of  the  line-boat  through  the  Canal,  a  good  oppor- 
tunity was  afforded  of  mutual  intercourse,  which 
was  afterwards  affectionately  remembered  by  all 
the  members  of  the  circle.  Thus  they  traveled  to- 
gether till  they  reached  Cleveland.  Here  Mr.  Bar- 
ber parted  from  them  and  went  South  to  attend 
the  sessions  of  the  Synod  of  Ohio  at  Lancaster ; 
but  Mr.  Judson,  having  some  relatives  and  other 
friends  in  Mr.  Betts'  parish,  concluded  to  accom- 
pany him  to  Wakeman.  To  accomplish  this  they 
proceeded  up  the  lake  to  Portland  [now  Sandusky 
City].  The  remaining  circumstances  of  this  his 
first  visit  to  Milan,  fraught  with  such  important 
interests  to  him  and  to  that  people,  as  well  as  to 
the  whole  adjoining  region,  shall  be  given  in  his 
own  words  contained  in  a  letter  from  Milan  to  Mr. 
Barber  under  the  date  of  Oct.  6,  1829.  «  We 
reached  Portland  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing after  you  left  us.  I  reached  this  place  about 
noon  the  same  day,  and  found,  to  my  no  small  re- 
gret, that  Mr.  Peters  had  preached  here  the  eve- 
ning previous,  and  had  left  for  Columbus  only  two 
or  three  hours  before  I  arrived.  I  spent  the  next 
Sabbath  in  Wakeman,  and  preached  for  brother 
Betts  while  he  went  to  Clarksfield.  Last  Sabbath 
I  preached  in  this  place.  It  is  a  pleasant  village, 
and  one  of  considerable  importance.  There  is  a 
small  church,  but  it  is  at  present  paralyzed  by  di- 
visions and  coldness.    It  is  a  post  that  ought  by 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


51 


all  means  to  be  occupied.  They  have  expressed  a 
high  degree  of  satisfaction  with  my  performance 
last  Sabbath,  and  are  urging  me  on  all  hands  to 
stay  and  preach  for  them.  But  you  know  I  am 
not  at  liberty  to  give  them  any  encouragement. 
I  have  become  acquainted  with  several  of  the  cler- 
gymen here,  and  find  them,  as  far  as  I  can  judge, 
to  be  men  of  the  right  stamp." 

While  these  influences  were  operating  to  detain 
Mr.  Judson  on  the  Western  Reserve,  others  not 
less  strong  were  repelling  him  from  the  place  of 
his  original  destination.  The  controversy  on  the 
subject  of  New  Haven  Theology  was  then  in  pro- 
gress, and,  as  a  natural  result,  suspicions  and 
jealousies  were  afloat  in  the  community  in  refe- 
rence to  the  students  who  came  out  from  that 
Seminary.  Before  the  two  friends  left  New  Ha- 
ven a  letter  had  been  received,  addressed  to  them 
by  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Columbus, 
which  gave  them  to  understand  that  their  orthodoxy 
was  a  matter  of  doubt  in  that  region.  "  Your  sys- 
tem of  theology,"  says  the  letter,  "  may  not  be  the 
same  as  ours ;  and,  possibly,  when  we  come  to 
understand  what  it  is,  we  may  not  approve  of  it ; 
particularly  should  you  embrace  Dr.  T.'s  views  of 
original  sin.  But,  if  that  should  be  your  system, 
we  would  not  think  it  our  duty  to  shut  you  out  of 
our  limits,  but  require  that  you  should  not  teach 
it ;  and  endeavor,  as  brethren,  having  the  same 
God  and  engaged  in  the  same  cause,  to  have  you 
adopt  a  better  system."    It  is  not  the  author's  in- 


52  MEMOIR  OF 

tention  to  impute  any  blame  to  the  writer  of  this 
letter,  who  undoubtedly  acted  from  a  sense  of  duty 
and  in  the  spirit  of  christian  frankness.  But  it 
could  not  operate  otherwise  upon  Mr.  Judson's 
mind  than  as  a  dissuasive  to  his  going  within  the 
bounds  of  that  Presbytery :  for  he  was  not  the 
man  to  preach  any  where  upon  sufferance,  within 
prescribed  limits  of  doctrine.  What  he  believed 
to  be  the  truth  he  held  openly,  and  felt  himself 
under  obligation  to  God  to  preach  as  openly. 
Neither  was  he  the  man  to  seek  a  battle-ground 
on  disputed  points  of  theology.  However  man- 
fully he  may  have  afterwards  withstood  the  inroads 
of  error  upon  the  field  in  which  God's  providence 
had  located  him,  he  never  manifested  a  disposition 
to  thrust  himself  forward  as  an  ecclesiastical  com- 
batant. It  is  certain  from  his  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Barber  that,  ever  after  the  receipt  of  this  letter, 
his  mind  had  been  averse  to  the  idea  of  entering 
upon  a  field  of  labor  where  he  could  not  expect 
the  full  confidence  of  his  brethren  as  a  man  sound 
in  the  faith.  And  when  a  good  opening  presented 
itself  to  him  in  a  region  where,  although  the  minis- 
ters did  not  all  agree  with  the  New  Haven  divines, 
they  were  yet  ready  to  welcome  him  with  open 
arms  as  a  faithful  minister  of  Christ,  he  was 
strongly  set  upon  occupying  it.  In  the  same  letter 
to  Mr.  Barber,  from  which  an  extract  has  already 
been  given,  he  says,  "  I  shall  plead  hard  for  a  loca- 
tion in  this  county.  I  have  seen  no  county  in 
Ohio,  except  Delaware  and  Marion,  which  pre- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


53 


sents  so  urgent  a  call  for  two  additional  ministers 
in  the  same  county  as  does  this.  So  confident  am 
I  that  I  shall  remain  here  that  I  shall  attend  the 
Synod  of  the  Western  Reserve  instead  of  that  of 
Ohio.  The  county  is  new  and  promising,  and  has 
quite  as  much  missionary  ground  as  any  south 
of  it." 

In  accordance  with  the  above  intimation  he  at- 
tended the  Synod  of  the  Western  Reserve,  and, 
upon  his  return  to  Milan,  wrote  again  to  Mr.  Bar- 
ber under  date  of  Oct.  28,  1829.  In  this  letter  he 
censures  Mr.  Barber  for  writing  under  the  influ- 
ence of  "  a  military  spirit,"  because  the  latter  had 
advised  that  they  should  disregard  these  suspi- 
cions about  orthodoxy,  and  go  straight  forward 
in  their  work.  "  For  my  part,"  he  says,  "  I  am 
willing  to  be  called  a  coward.  I  had  rather  run 
than  fight.  If  the  Assembly's  Board  want  Marion 
County,  let  them  have  it.  I  have  confidence  in 
Princeton  men,  and  do  not  fear  for  the  cause  of 
Christ  in  their  hands."  He  then  dwells  largely 
upon  the  feeble  state  of  his  health.  "  I  have,"  he 
says,  "  much  reason  to  tremble  for  my  health,  go 
where  I  will.  But  my  labors  in  Marion  county 
would  be  twice  as  great  as  here.  At  no  time 
since  I  arrived  here  has  my  health  been  sufficient 
to  go  through  with  an  extempore  sermon  an  hour 
long  without  fainting.  In  addition,  if  I  go  there  I 
shall  have  no  roads,  few  of  the  comforts  which  my 
feeble  health  requires,  and  be  obliged  to  ride  from 
place  to  place,  and  encounter  storms  which  will 
5* 


54 


MEMOIR  OF 


soon  wear  out  my  feeble  frame."  At  the  close  of 
the  letter  he  says,  "  I  should  be  glad  to  write  more, 
but  am  so  fatigued  I  must  lie  down.  I  am  at 
present  under  the  doctor's  care."' 

November  19,  he  wrote  again  as  follows  :  "  After 
I  sealed  the  letter  which  I  wrote  to  you  three 
weeks  ago,  I  went  to  bed,  as  I  said  I  should,  but 
did  not  rise  again,  except  to  have  my  bed  made, 
for  about  two  weeks.  I  have  had  something  of  a 
run  of  fever,  in  addition  to  my  old  complaints. 
Day  before  yesterday,  three  weeks  from  the  time  I 
was  taken,  I  rode  out  for  the  first  time.  How 
soon  I  shall  be  able  to  preach  is  known  only  to 
him  who  knows  the  end  from  the  beginning.  I 
suppose  my  illness  was  brought  on  by  the  fatigue 
and  exposure  of  going  to  the  Synod.  I  was  taken 
before  I  reached  Milan  on  my  return."  In  the 
same  letter  he  repeats  his  arguments  against  going 
to  Marion  county. 

Mr.  Judsous  disorder  was  an  attack  of  ague  and 
fever,  which,  in  its  final  issue,  seems  to  have  pro- 
duced a  favorable  change  in  his  system,  and  to 
have  operated  as  a  kind  of  physical  regeneration. 
Before  this  attack  he  was  thin  and  gaunt.  It  was 
after  he  had  fully  recovered  from  it  that  a  tendency 
to  corpulency  first  began  to  manifest  itself.  His 
physician  was  the  late  Dr.  A.  B.  Harris,  at  whose 
house  he  was  sick.  The  kind  attentions  of  Dr. 
Hams  and  his  family  made  a  deep  impression  on 
his  mind.  In  one  of  his  letters  he  says,  "  Re- 
specting my  sickness  I  have  to  remark  that  my 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


55 


obligations  to  God  are  infinite.  The  first  house 
which  I  entered  in  the  place  was  that  of  Dr.  Har- 
ris.* In  him  and  his  wife  I  have  found  a  brother 
and  a  sister  indeed.  Their  house  is  my  home.  I 
could  not  wish  for  a  better.  In  his  family  I  was 
sick,  and  every  attention  of  every  kind  which  I 
could  reasonably  ask  for  was  received,  and  every 
thing  gratuitous."  Between  Pr.  Harris  and  Mr. 
Judson  an  endeared  intimacy  existed  till  the  death 
of  the  former  in  the  year  1844. 

These  particulars  of  the  change  of  Mr.  Judson's 
plan  in  respect  to  his  field  of  labor  have  been  given 
somewhat  in  detail,  because  upon  this  change 
hinged  the  whole  of  his  future  life.  The  invita- 
tion of  the  Church  in  Milan  he  felt  it  his  duty  to 
accept,  and  from  that  time  to  the  day  of  his  death 
his  history  is  identified  with  theirs.  Virtually,  his 
pastoral  relation  to  them  commenced  at  this  point, 
though  he  was  not  formally  installed  over  them 
until  several  years  afterwards. 

Mr.  Judson  did  not,  at  the  first,  give  his  Sab- 
bath days  exclusively  to  Milan.  One  third  of  the 
time  he  preached  in  Berlin,  the  township  directly 
east  of  Milan,  which  was  then  called  "  EldridgeP 
This  arrangement  must  have  been  made  about  the 
close  of  the  year  1829,  for  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Barber 
dated  Jan.  30,  1830,  he  says  :  "  I  preach  two  Sab- 
baths in  Milan  and  one  in  Eldridge.  As  I  have 
been  at  Eldridge  but  twice,  I  must  defer  my  ac- 

*  He  had.  however,  on  his  way  lo  (he  village  of  Milan,  stopped  at 
the  house  of  Deacon  Pliilo  Adams,  where  he  took  his  first  meal. 


MEMOIR  OF 


count  of  that  place."  The  present  seems  to  be  a 
suitable  place  for  inserting  a  summary  of  his  la- 
bors in  Berlin. 

When  he  commenced  preaching  there  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  had  only  fifteen  members,  and 
was  in  a  very  depressed  condition,  other  denomi- 
nations having  had  the  ascendency  in  the  town. 
His  policy  was  to  go  forward  in  a  quiet  way,  and 
avoid  all  controversy  with  men  of  other  sects. 
On  this  point  he  expresses  himself  very  decidedly. 
u  I  feel,"  he  writes  to  his  friend,  "  that  God  has  in 
great  mercy  kept  us  from  excitement;"  and  he 
strongly  counsels  him,  if  surrounded  by  men  of  a 
sectarian  spirit,  to  "discountenance  every  thing 
like  noise  or  excitement,"  and  thus  give  them 
"  nothing  to  feed  on."  To  his  intimate  friends  it 
is  well  known  that,  at  a  later  period,  when  he  was 
absorbed  in  the  work  of  conducting  protracted 
meetings,  he  strongly  condemned  the  above  senti- 
ments in  regard  to  excitement,  declaring  his  belief 
that,  through  fear  of  excitement,  he  had  stood  in 
the  way  of  a  powerful  revival  in  Berlin.  But, 
many  years  before  his  death,  he  returned  again,  as 
we  shall  see,  to  his  first  opinion. 

Besides  his  regular  services  in  Berlin  on  the 
Sabbath,  he  visited  the  place  once,  and  sometimes 
twice  a  week,  to  preach  an  extempore  lecture. 
His  labors  were  owned  by  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church  in  the  quickening  of  believers,  and  the 
conversion  of  unbelievers.  To  his  friend  he  writes, 
March  16,  1830 :  «  The  little  church  in  Eldridge  is 


EVERT0N  JUDSON. 


57 


very  much  awake,  and  there  have  been  of  late 
several  hopeful  conversions.  A  number  of  others 
are  serious.  We  do  not  call  it  a  revival  yet.  We 
are  not,  however,  without  strong  hopes."  And  on 
the  21st  of  the  month  following :  "  There  have 
been  eight  or  ten  hopeful  conversions  at  Eldridge  : 
meetings  are  still  crowded :  several  are  still  se- 
rious, and  we  hope  it  will  continue.  I  frequently 
need  help  there.  I  preach  there  every  week,  and 
sometimes  twice  in  the  week."  May  19th,  he 
writes :  "  The  seriousness  continues  at  Eldridge  : 
we  have  no  powerful  revival  there,  but  a  silent 
dropping  from  above."  The  year  following,  he 
notices  indications  of  another  revival.  "  In  El- 
dridge there  is  again  considerable  seriousness,  and 
four  or  five  hopeful  conversions.  We  are  encour- 
aged to  hope  that  we  shall  again  witness  a  revival 
there." 

Meanwhile  he  was  not  forgetful  of  that  cause 
for  which  he  had  labored  so  efficiently  in  the  cen- 
tral and  southern  parts  of  the  state.  In  the  spring 
after  he  came  to  Berlin  he  organized  a  Sabbath 
School  which  met  under  the  shade  of  the  trees. 
This  school  was,  for  the  place,  very  large  and 
flourishing.  In  one  of  his  letters  he  thus  notices 
it :  "  Our  Sunday  Schools  [at  Milan  and  Eldridge] 
keep  up  a  considerable  interest.  The  one  in  El- 
dridge numbers  nearly  ninety  scholars.  That  in 
Milan  has,  perhaps,  nearly  as  many,  but  they  are 
not  near  as  regular  in  their  attendance." 

The  only  place  of  worship  which  Mr.  Judson 


58 


MEMOIR  OF 


could  find  in  Berlin  upon  his  entrance  was  a  log 
school-house  near  the  centre  of  the  town,  in  which 
all  denominations  claimed  an  equal  right.    In  his 
report  to  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  inserted 
in  the  Home  Missionary  for  December  1830,  and 
written  the  previous  autumn,  he  thus  describes 
the  inconveniences  to  which  his  congregation  was 
subjected.    "  Our  Sabbath  School  in  Eldridge  is 
still  interesting,  though  much  of  its  interest  must 
soon  be  destroyed,  if,  indeed,  the  school  be  not 
entirely   suspended,   by   the   approach   of  cold 
weather.    We  have  no  house  of  sufficient  dimen- 
sions to  accommodate  the  scholars.    During  the 
summer  we  have  assembled  the  school  in  the  log 
house  which  we  use  as  a  place  of  public  worship. 
Every  part  of  the  house  is  so  entirely  filled  with 
the  members  of  the  Sabbath  School  as  would 
render  the  scene  one  of  utter  confusion,  should  we 
attempt  to  hear  recitations.    Our  usual  course  has 
been,  after  the  school  is  opened  by  prayer,  for  the 
teachers  to  take  the  scholars,  and  march  them  out 
by  classes,  and  lodge  them  under  the  trees  and 
fences  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  house,  and, 
after  recitation,  march  them  back  to  receive  their 
books  from  the  library.    There  are  usually  con- 
siderable numbers  who  cannot  get  within  the 
walls  of  the  house  during  the  public  worship. 
You  will  see  by  this  that  we  greatly  need  a  house 
for  the  worship  of  God.    The  people  are  now 
making  efforts  to  build  a  house  thirty  by  forty 
next  spring.    It  is  doubtful  whether  they  will  sue- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


ceed.  Most  of  them  have  no  dwellings  except  log 
cabins,  and  many  of  them  struggle  with  poverty. 
Were  the  calls  upon  the  benevolent  in  your  city 
not  so  frequent,  I  would  ask  you  to  present  our 
case  to  some  who  feel  for  the  wants  of  "  the  west," 
with  the  hope  of  aid.  With  $100  from  abroad, 
I  would  pledge  myself  that  a  plain,  neat  house, 
thirty  by  forty,  should  be  erected  and  finished  in 
one  year  from  this  date." 

The  $100  from  abroad  Mr.  Judson  did  not  ob- 
tain. He  raised  it,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  or, 
at  least,  supplied  its  place,  by  his  own  self-denying 
liberality.  Soon  after  the  commencement  of  his 
labors  in  Berlin  he  had  begun  to  talk  to  the  people 
on  the  necessity  of  a  house  of  worship ;  and  the 
importance  of  this  he  pressed  not  only  upon  the 
members  of  the  church,  but  also  upon  the  wealthier 
men  in  the  place  out  of  the  church,  wherever  he 
had  reason  to  believe  that  they  would  be  disposed 
to  do  any  thing.  A  subscription  paper  was  put  in 
circulation,  and  about  $350  were  subscribed,  the 
privilege  being  granted  to  the  town  of  occupying 
the  house  for  business  purposes.  It  was  now  that 
Mr.  Judson  performed  one  of  those  acts  of  noble 
liberality  which  were  so  characteristic  of  him. 
He  offered  to  give  for  the  building  of  the  house  all 
that  they  should  raise  that  year  for  his  salary,  and 
said,  moreover,  that  if  the  subscription  for  this  lat- 
ter object  should  not  amount  to  $100,  he  would 
make  up  the  deficiency.  It  actually  fell  short 
some  five  or  ten  dollars,  which  he  paid  out  of  his 


60 


MEMOIR  OF 


own  pocket.  Thus  he  bore  more  than  one  fifth 
of  the  whole  expense.  And,  when  the  house  was 
completed,  in  1831,  to  furnish  the  pulpit  he  gave 
a  Bible  and  Hymn  Book,  with  this  charge  : — 
"  I  give  you  these,  and,  when  you  get  able,  you 
must,  in  like  manner,  furnish  some  needy  church." 
As  to  the  extent  of  his  pecuniary  resources  when 
he  performed  this  act  of  liberality  he  shall  tell  his 
own  story.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Barber,  written  this 
very  year,  he  says :  "  Some  of  us  [in  the  Presby- 
tery of  Huron]  have  nominally  $400.  I  believe 
I  realize  more  than  any  other  man  in  the  Presby- 
tery, and  I  had  rather  have  $350  cash  in  regular 
payments  than  all  I  now  get."  But  Mr.  Judson 
was  generous  even  to  a  fault,  and,  when  his 
heart  was  set  on  the  accomplishment  of  an  ob- 
ject, he  spared  not  his  own  purse,  though  but 
slenderly  replenished. 

In  his  congregation  in  Berlin  he  manifested  a 
deep  interest,  and,  feeling  that  he  could  not  oc- 
cupy both  places,  he  frequently  expressed  his  wil- 
lingness to  take  either  Berlin  or  Milan  as  his 
permanent  field  of  labor.  "  It  is  my  wish,"  he 
writes  in  April  1830,  "  another  year,  should  Provi- 
dence favor  it,  to  give  up  either  Milan  or  El- 
dridge,  I  do  not  care  which  ;"  and  the  same  re- 
mark he  frequently  repeated.  After  he  left  Berlin 
in  1832,  he  always  took  a  deep  interest  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  church  to  which  he  had 
ministered.  On  one  occasion  he  said  to  Deacon 
Fuller :  "  I  am  raising  up  a  minister  for  you : 


EVERTON  JUDSON, 


61 


you  must  hold  on,  and  struggle  along  as  well 
as  you  can  ;"  alluding  to  Mr.  J.  C.  Sherwin,  then 
a  student  of  theology  in  Western  Reserve  Col- 
lege, who  afterwards  so  long  and  so  successfully 
occupied  the  post  of  pastor  in  the  Congregational 
Church  in  Berlin. 


G 


CHAPTER  V. 


HIS  LABORS  IN  MILAN  TILL  THE  FALL  OF  1831  J 
WITH  A  NOTICE  OF  THE  PART  HE  BORE  IN  PRO- 
TRACTED MEETINGS. 

The  history  of  Mr.  Judson's  labors  in  Milan 
will  now  be  commenced. 

The  Congregational  Church  in  Milan  was  origi- 
nally organized  April  25,  1818,  in  the  house  of 
Mr.  Spears  at  "  Spears'  Corners,"  two  miles  north- 
west from  the  center  of  Milan,  and  was  called  the 
"  First  Congregational  Church  of  Huron."  The 
Rev.  Messrs.  William  Williams  and  Alvan  Coe, 
missionaries  of  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Socie- 
ty, were  present.  The  Church  originally  consisted 
of  six  members,  viz. 

William  Spears,  and  Love  his  wife, 
Gilbert  Sexton,  and  Deborah  his  wife, 
William  Adams,  and 
Mrs.  Eleanor  Adams. 
In  May  1823,  the  Church  removed  from  Spears' 
Corners  to  the  center  of  Milan.    At  the  same  time 
they  voted  to  alter  their  name  to  that  of  the  "  First 
Congregational  Church  in  Milan." 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


63 


In  June  1825,  the  form  of  government  was  al- 
tered from  Congregational  to  Presbyterian,  and 
three  Ruling  Elders  were  chosen  and  regularly  set 
apart  to  their  office.  In  connection  with  this 
change  of  government  a  list  of  church  members  is 
given  in  the  records,  from  which  it  appears  that 
the  church  contained  at  that  time  nine  males,  and 
twenty-eight  females,  making  thirty-seven  in  all. 
Upon  Mr.  Judson's  arrival  in  the  fall  of  1829,  this 
number  had  been  considerably  reduced,  for  he  says, 
in  one  of  his  letters,  that,  in  the  summer  following, 
it  reported  only  thirty-two  members  to  the  General 
Assembly.  And  again,  in  giving  an  account  of 
Milan,  under  date  of  Jan.  30, 1830,  he  says  :  "  The 
number  of  families  in  the  village  is  about  sixty  ; 
the  number  of  inhabitants  not  far  from  four  hun- 
dred. Of  all  these  not  more  than  twenty-five  or 
thirty  profess  religion.  Of  these  about  twenty  are 
Presbyterians." 

In  Jan.  1830,  the  Church  petitioned  the  Presby- 
tery of  Huron  for  permission  to  change  its  form  of 
government  back  again  from  Presbyterian  to  Con- 
gregational. This  petition  was  granted  on  condi- 
tion of  the  assent  of  two  thirds  of  the  members, 
with  a  recommendation  that  the  following  article 
be  adopted  as  a  part  of  their  constitution,  viz. 
"  Any  person  belonging  to  a  Presbyterian  Church, 
or  having  a  preference  for  the  Presbyterian  form 
of  government,  and  signifying  this  at  the  time 
when  he  unites  with  the  Church,  may  be  received 
as  such,  and  for  him  the  Standing  Committee 


64 


MEMOIR  OF 


shall  be  in  the  place  of  a  Board  of  Elders  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church." 

Mr.  Judson  preached  his  first  sermon  in  Milan 
Oct.  4,  1829,  in  "  the  yellow  schoolhouse,"  oppo- 
site to  the  present  Methodist  Church.  Of  the  at- 
tendance on  that  day,  so  memorable  to  the  people 
of  Milan,  he  says :  "  Although  it  was  a  pleasant 
day,  there  were  not  more  than  thirty  present." 
But  these  thirty  appear  to  have  been  "  men  that 
had  understanding  of  the  times  to  know  what 
Israel  ought  to  do,"  for,  as  we  have  seen,  they  im- 
mediately pressed  him  to  remain  with  them.  The 
number  of  his  hearers  steadily  increased  till,  in  the 
January  following,  it  was  "  at  least  four  times  as 
large  as  at  first." 

In  commencing  his  pastoral  labors  he  fully 
obeyed  the  injunction  of  inspiration,  "  Whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might." 
The  greatness  and  solemnity  of  the  work  to  which 
he  had  been  set  apart  by  his  ordination  vows  filled 
his  vision,  and  called  forth  his  utmost  energies. 
He  had  not  the  most  distant  idea  of  settling  qui- 
etly down  in  his  parish,  and  performing  just  labor 
enough  to  satisfy  the  congregation.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  set  himself  earnestly  about  the  work  of 
"  breaking  up  the  fallow  ground  "  (to  use  his  own 
expression)  in  all  directions  around  him.  His  la- 
bors at  this  period  were  most  abundant  and  ex- 
hausting. Besides  his  regular  sermons  on  the 
Sabbath,  which  at  this  period  were  always  written, 
he  attended  frequent  neighborhood  meetings  in  the 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


65 


vicinity  of  his  two  parishes.  To  one  of  his  dea- 
cons in  Berlin  he  once  said  that  for  some  three 
weeks  he  had  not  lodged  more  than  one  night  in  a 
place.  He  was  occupied  in  preaching  to  the  peo- 
ple in  the  outskirts  of  his  parishes  wherever  he 
could  find  them.  He  preached  in  log-houses  or 
barns  as  opportunity  offered.  Another  of  his  pa- 
rishioners says  of  him,  "  He  was  almost  always  on 
horseback." 

These  severe  labors  brought  on,  in  the  summer 
and  fall  of  1830,  a  fresh  attack  of  his  old  com- 
plaint, the  ague.  Writing  on  this  subject  to  Mr. 
Barber,  he  says,  Sept.  17,  1830  :  «  At  the  time  I 
wrote  last  I  think  I  was  recovering.  Since  that 
time,  in  consequence  of  too  much  exertion,  I  have 
suffered  a  second  attack  from  the  ague.  I  have 
again  broken  it,  and  am  fast  recovering  my  health. 
At  the  same  time  a  little  exposure  would  probably 
bring  it  on  again.  So  long  as  I  am  careful  of  my 
health,  I  can  preach  four  or  five  times  a  week 
without  inconvenience." 

These  earnest  and  abundant  labors  were  sig- 
nally owned  of  God.  Of  Berlin  the  account  has 
already  been  given.  So  early  as  March  1830,  he 
speaks  of  the  success  of  his  labors  in  connection 
with  his  sense  of  his  own  unworthiness.  u  You 
speak,"  he  writes  to  Mr.  Barber,  "  in  your  last  let- 
ter of  the  probable  effect  of  my  sickness " — the 
sickness  noticed  in  the  last  chapter — "  in  bringing 
me  near  to  God.  I  fear  you  are  mistaken.  It  ap- 
pears to  me  that  I  was  never  so  far  from  God  in 
6* 


66 


MEMOIR  OF 


my  life — so  cold,  so  dead,  so  destitute  of  a  spirit 
of  prayer,  so  utterly  unlike  what  a  Christian  should 
be ;  and  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  God  seems 
to  be  blessing  my  labors.  The  Church  in  this 
place  is  revived  almost  inconceivably  since  I  came 
here."  He  then  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  condition 
of  things  in  Berlin,  as  already  given. 

In  the  September  following,  a  Conference  of 
Churches,  which  met  regularly  once  a  month,  held 
its  sessions  in  Milan.  Of  this  he  says  :  "  It  was 
productive  of  some  good.  Our  meetings  are  much 
increased  in  numbers  and  interest.  Several  are 
seriously  inquiring  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved, 
and  two  or  three  are  indulging  the  hope  that  they 
have  passed  from  death  unto  life.  I  have  been 
led  for  some  time  past  to  believe  that  when  I  first 
began  to  preach  here  I  placed  too  much  depend- 
ence on  my  own  arm,  and  looked  too  little  to  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  make  the  truth  effectual.  Are  we 
not  in  danger  of  feeling  too  little  the  inefficiency 
of  our  own  arm  ?  I  am  not  changing  my  theo- 
logical views  with  regard  to  the  adaptedness  of 
truth  to  produce  the  effect.  But  I  think  I  see  more 
of  the  stubbornness  of  the  human  heart  in  oppo- 
sing it,  unless  it  is  bowed  by  the  omnipotent  ener- 
gies of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

In  this  excellent  state  of  mind  we  discern  a  pre- 
paration to  receive  a  refreshing  from  God's  pre- 
sence. It  is  not  surprising  that,  a  few  months  af- 
terwards, Jan.  15,  1831,  he  should  write  to  Mr. 
Barber  as  follows  :  "  Shall  I  tell  you  what  God 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


67 


has  done  for  us  in  Milan  ?  Seventeen  have  united 
with  the  church  by  profession.  At  our  commu- 
nion in  February  probably  twelve  or  fifteen  others 
will  come  forward.  The  number  of  hopeful  con- 
versions has  been  from  twenty-five  to  forty.  Since 
you  left,  the  work  has  been  more  among  heads  of 
families.  *  *  *  Our  little  church,  which  reported 
only  thirty-two  members  to  the  last  General  As- 
sembly, will  be  able  to  report  probably  from 
seventy-five  to  eighty  next  spring.  What  hath 
God  wrought!  Let  us  magnify  the  Lord  together. 
The  number  that  attend  meeting  has  considerably 
increased  since  you  were  here.  The  house  is 
scarcely  sufficient  to  hold  them.  Conversions  are 
not  as  frequent  of  late,  although  the  attention  does 
not  seem  to  diminish.  Our  meetings  have  never 
been  better  attended  than  at  present." 

Again  he  writes,  Feb.  25, 1831 :  "  T  believe  since 
I  saw  you  my  public  labors  have  amounted  to 
more  than  six  sermons  per  week  on  an  average, 
besides  considerable  pastoral  labor  in  visiting 
families,  schools,  Sabbath  schools,  etc.  *  *  *  I  know 
I  am  too  prone — far  too  prone — to  magnify  my- 
self instead  of  exalting  God.  1  am  however  more 
and  more  convinced  that  God  is  all  and  in  all  in 
the  conversion  of  sinners.  I  think  I  see  more  and 
more  of  the  weakness  and  inefficiency  of  means, 
until  they  are  set  home  by  the  Holy  Ghost  sent 
down  from  heaven.  Since  I  wrote  you  last  there 
have  been  occasional  instances  of  conversion. 
Our  meetings  on  the  Sabbath  and  in  the  evening 


68 


MEMOIR  OF 


are  considerably  more  crowded,  and  our  Sabbath 
school  has  considerably  increased.  *  *  *  God  is 
doing  much  for  us  in  this  County.  The  revival 
continues  in  the  congregations  of  Lyme  and 
Ridgefield.  Several  conversions  have  recently  oc- 
curred in  Ruggles,  and  indeed  there  have  been 
conversions  more  or  less  in  six  or  eight  of  the 
churches  of  this  County  within  a  few  weeks.  The 
whole  number  that  have  united  with  the  Church 
in  Milan  within  a  year  is  forty-two.  Eight  or  ten 
will  unite  with  us  next  communion.  Till  within 
one  year  ago  the  moral  aspect  of  this  County  was 
probably  as  dark  as  that  of  Marion.  Three  years 
ago  there  were  only  two  ministers  of  our  denomi- 
nation. Now  there  are  eight  who  bestow  their 
whole  time  upon  the  work.  There  had  hardly 
been  a  dozen  conversions  in  five  years  previous  to 
this  year." 

The  above  extract  shows  that  it  was  a  time  of 
general  religious  interest  in  that  region,  as  indeed 
it  was  throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  United 
States.  Of  this  he  speaks  in  another  letter  dated 
July  18,  1831 :  "  There  has  not  been  a  time  for  a 
year  and  a  half  in  which  there  has  not  been  a 
revival  in  some  one  of  our  churches.  Yesterday 
about  thirty  were  added  to  the  Church  in  Ver- 
million. The  Sabbath  before,  twenty  were  added 
to  the  Church  in  Lyme.  The  Sabbath  before 
that,  nine  were  added  to  the  Church  in  Wakeman, 
and  several  of  our  churches  expect  to  receive  addi- 
tions soon.  Thus  you  see  God  is  doing  great 
things  for  us." 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


69 


The  following  extracts  from  his  Reports  to  the 
Home  Missionary  Society,  which  appeared  in  the 
Home  Missionary  for  March  and  May  1831,  will 
be  a  suitable  close  to  the  notice  of  this  revival. 
"Durinsr  the  last  three  months  I  have  attended 
most  of  the  time  four  stated  weekly  meetings  in 
different  parts  of  my  congregations,  and  occasional 
meetings  frequently.  The  contrast  between  the 
religious  aspect  of  things  here  now,  and  what  it 
was  one  year  since,  is  very  wide.  Considering 
the  sparseness  of  our  population,  the  revival  has 
probably  been  as  extensive  here  as  in  many  places 
among  our  favored  churches  at  the  East,  where 
they  count  hundreds  among  the  hopeful  converts." 
—  Vol.  ILL  p.  222. 

"  Twenty  have  united  with  our  Church,  [since 
the  last  Report,]  eighteen  of  them  by  confession, 
which,  added  to  the  seventeen,  before  reported, 
gives  thirty-five  who  have  united  with  us,  as  the 
fruits  of  this  revival.  Others  are  expected  to  unite 
with  us  at  our  next  communion.  The  whole  num- 
ber that  have  united  with  the  Milan  Church  with- 
in a  year  is  forty-eight.  This,  when  we  take  into 
consideration  that  the  whole  number  antecedent 
to  that  period  was  only  thirty-two,  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  large  accession  to  our  numbers." — 
Vol.  IV.  p.  11. 

While  Mr.  Judson's  pastoral  labors  were  greatly 
multiplied,  he  did  not,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
forget  the  cause  of  Sabbath  Schools.  In  addition 
to  the  care  which  he  bestowed  upon  the  two  in 


70 


MEMOIR  OF 


his  own  parishes,  he  exerted  himself  for  their  es- 
tablishment in  the  county.  "  I  am  expecting  soon," 
he  writes  in  the  spring  of  1830,  "to  visit  the 
County  for  the  purpose  of  forming  Sabbath 
Schools  in  eight  or  ten  places."  A  County  Sab- 
bath School  Union  had  been  previously  formed  by 
another  agency,  called  the  Huron  County  Sabbath 
School  Union.  In  behalf  of  this  he  wrote,  as 
Secretary,  to  Philadelphia,  ordering  $150  worth  of 
books,  for  which  he  promised  to  make  remittances 
as  soon  as  the  books  could  be  sold.  He  was  not 
able  to  obtain  credit  for  the  books  upon  terms 
which  he  thought  reasonable,  and  was  highly  of- 
fended at  the  conditions  proposed.  Upon  this  he 
immediately  sat  down  and  drew  up  a  subscription 
which  he  headed  with  the  sum  of  $10,  mounted 
his  horse,  and  rode  through  the  county,  determined, 
as  he  said,  that  Huron  County  should  have  a  de- 
pository of  its  own  if  he  paid  for  it  himself.  He 
raised  something  over  $100.  "  We  are  indepen- 
dent," he  writes,  "  and  get  our  books  at  New  York? 
or  Utica,  or  wherever  else  we  please.  I  keep  the 
depository,  and  Dr.  Harris  is  my  clerk."  This 
movement  was  highly  characteristic. 

In  the  year  1831,  Mr.  Judson's  views  underwent 
a  great  change  in  respect  to  the  measures  to  be 
used  for  the  promotion  of  revivals.  This  change 
may  be  summarily  described  as  a  conversion  to 
the  system  of  protracted  meetings — "  Four  Days' 
Meetings  "  they  were  then  called — with  the  usual 
appendages  of  "  anxious  seats,"  and  the  like.  He 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


71 


had  an  agency  for  the  New  York  Evangelist, 
which  was,  at  that  time,  strongly  committed  to 
the  measures  of  Mr.  Finney  and  his  coadjutors, 
and  it  was  probably  through  the  influence  of  that 
paper  that  his  mind  was  first  turned  in  this  direc- 
tion. His  letters  show  that,  in  accordance  with 
the  native  ardor  of  his  character,  he  went  into 
this  system,  respecting  which  he  had  not  long  be- 
fore expressed  himself  unfavorably,  with  all  his 
soul.  He  speaks  in  one  of  his  letters,  written  in 
May,  of  his  intention,  during  a  contemplated  jour- 
ney to  the  East,  to  spend,  if  practicable,  a  week  or 
two  with  Mr.  Finney.  He  adds  :  "  It  is  the  wish 
of  this  Presbytery,  at  least  of  most  of  the  mem- 
bers, that  I  should  invite  him  to  visit  this  County." 
Respecting  this  declaration  it  should  be  remarked 
that  he  speaks  only  of  the  wishes  of  members  of 
the  Presbytery  unofficially  expressed.  They  were 
not  unanimous  in  such  a  wish,  and  it  was  never 
carried  into  execution.  But  from  that  time  on- 
ward, till  the  close  of  the  year  1834,  his  labors  in 
Four  Days'  meetings  were  very  abundant.  To 
enumerate  all  the  places  where  he  assisted  in  con- 
ducting them  is  impossible.  Eden,  Tiffin,  Bloom, 
Lyme,  Firchville,  Mansfield,  Plymouth,  Maxville, 
Monroeville,  Berlin,  Ruggles,  Windham,  may  be 
mentioned.  In  company  with  the  Rev.  Enoch 
Conger  he  attended  nearly  all  the  protracted  meet- 
ings of  the  region.  For  this  purpose  they  occa- 
sionally obtained  leave  of  absence  from  their  con- 
gregations for  specified  periods.    In  communica- 


72 


MEMOIR  OF 


ting  to  the  Ohio  Observer  an  account  of  the  revi- 
val in  Eden,  Mr.  Judson  says :  "  Brother  Conger 
and  myself  have  obtained  leave  of  our  respective 
congregations  to  be  absent  three  months  during  the 
remainder  of  this  year.  Our  object  is  to  spend 
the  time  exclusively  in  protracted  meetings.  A 
large  proportion  of  it  we  expect  to  spend  in  these 
Western  counties."  The  meetings  were  generally 
four  days  in  length,  and  were  conducted  after  the 
usual  manner  of  protracted  meetings  at  that  pe- 
riod, with  three  sermons  a  day,  and  usually  prayer- 
meetings  before  sermon.  Mr.  Conger  generally 
called  out  the  anxious  and  Mr.  Judson  addressed 
them,  setting  forth  their  condition  and  prospects 
as  sinners,  the  reasonableness  of  God's  service, 
and  the  excellency  of  the  gospel  method  of  salva- 
tion. Towards  the  close  of  these  meetings  they 
sometimes  called  upon  those  who  indulged  the 
hope  of  having  passed  from  death  to  life  to  rise. 
This  was  always  after  clear  and  definite  instruc- 
tion respecting  the  nature  of  true  religion.  The 
success  of  these  meetings  was  various,  but  was, 
upon  the  whole,  as  great  as  usually  attended  such 
services. 

Within  the  bounds  of  Huron  Presbytery  they 
never  had  much  foreign  help.  Messrs.  Judson  and 
Conger  once  attended  a  meeting  in  Carlyle  con- 
ducted by  Rev.  Lucius  Foote.  It  rested  with 
them  to  say  whether  he  should  or  should  not  be 
invited  to  labor  within  the  bounds  of  Huron  Pres- 
bytery.   But  they,  after  attentive  observations  re- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


73 


turned  without  inviting  him,  fully  persuaded  that 
it  was  best  for  the  ministers  to  keep  the  manage- 
ment of  these  meetings  in  their  own  hands. 

At  the  close  of  the  series  of  meetings  held  with- 
in the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Huron,  he  be- 
gan to  express  to  his  colleague,  doubts  as  to  the 
utility  of  this  form  of  advancing  Christ's  kingdom. 
He  said  :  "  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  against  them 
publicly,  but  I  have  serious  doubts  whether  upon 
the  whole  they  do  good."  His  objections  arose 
from  their  extreme  liability  to  perversion,  and  from 
the  fact  that  they  were  actually  perverted.  To  an 
intimate  friend  he  once  said:  "These  measures 
for  promoting  revivals  which  I  have  employed  in 
connection  with  protracted  meetings  have  been 
greatly  abused  by  the  prominent  leaders  :  I  feel 
that  to  encourage  them  further  would  be  wrong  : 
to  return  to  the  beaten  paths  is  now  the  best  way." 
His  mind  became  gradually  more  and  more  set- 
tled in  this  conviction,  and  he  positively  refused 
to  attend  one  that  was  held  in  Plymouth  after  Mr. 
Conger  took  charge  of  that  congregation.  The 
results  of  the  protracted  meeting  held  in  his  own 
congregation  near  the  close  of  the  year  1835,  of 
which  notice  will  be  taken  hereafter,  contributed 
largely  to  determine  his  mind  against  the  utility 
of  their  continuance.  From  that  time  till  the  day 
of  his  death  he  firmly  maintained  the  ground  that 
the  time  for  this  kind  of  efforts  was  past,  and,  in 
promoting  the  cause  of  Christ  among  his  people, 
7 


74 


MEMOIR. 


he  relied  exclusively  upon  the  ordinary  means  of 
grace. 

It  should  be  added  here  that,  during  his  efforts 
in  protracted  meetings,  he  adopted  from  necessity 
the  method  of  preaching  extemporaneously.  Of 
this  he  was  for  some  time  a  warm  advocate,  and 
practiced  it  exclusively.  But  he  returned  again, 
about  the  year  1837,  to  his  former  habit  of  writing. 
This  two-fold  change  will  be  considered  more  at 
large  in  another  place.  It  is  referred  to  here  sim- 
ply as  a  part  of  his  history. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


CONTINUATION"  OF   HIS  LABORS   IN    MILAN  TILL  TIIF. 
CLOSE  OP  THE  YEAR  1836. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1831,  Mr.  Judson  found 
leisure,  notwithstanding  the  multiplicity  of  his 
labors,  to  form  the  plan  of  an  institution  which 
was  subsequently  put  into  successful  operation 
mainly  by  his  energy  and  indomitable  perseve- 
rance, and  which  still  exists  as  a  monument  of  his 
wisdom  and  forethought.  This  wras  the  Huron 
Institute.  The  first  notice  of  this  is  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  Mr.  Barber,  dated  Sept.  29,  1831. 

"  At  the  late  meeting  of  our  Presbytery  we  re- 
solved to  establish  a  Manual  Labor  School  as 
soon  as  practicable.  Its  location  will  probably  be 
at  Milan.  We  shall  employ  some  one  as  a  per- 
manent Principal,  with  the  expectation  that  he 
will  have  such  assistance  as  the  growing  interests 
of  the  Institute  may  demand.  We  intend  to  have 
a  Ladies'  Department  as  soon  as  we  can  support 
it.  Our  first  object  is  to  train  young  men  for  Col- 
lege, and,  perhaps,  carry  some  through  their  studies 


76 


MEMOIR  OF 


for  the  ministry  where  they  may  be  too  old  for 
College,  and  may  wish  to  cut  short  their  course. 
Our  second  object  is  to  prepare  teachers  for  our 
common  schools.  Our  third,  to  finish  the  educa- 
tion of  youth  who  expect  to  engage  in  the  com- 
mon business  of  life.  You  see  we  are  looking  for 
something  large.  The  Presbytery  have  appointed 
a  Board  of  twelve  men,  ministers  and  laymen, 
who  are  to  obtain  a  charter,  and  to  possess  the 
power  of  filling  their  own  vacancies,  and  have  the 
entire  control  of  the  Institution.  I  am  one  of  that 
Board.  At  its  commencement  we  shall,  perhaps, 
be  obliged  to  throw  our  three  departments  into 
one.  The  whole  county  will  patronize  it.  There 
is  no  place  in  the  county  where  young  men  may 
fit  for  either  of  the  above  callings.  *  *  *  The  in- 
stitution is  a  child  of  my  own  creating,  and  my 
whole  soul  is  embarked  in  it.  We  intend  to  at- 
tach to  it  a  small  farm  and  a  mechanic's  shop." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  Mr.  Barber,  written  in 
the  December  following,  he  says  :  "  The  Board 
had  pledged  themselves  to  raise  $2,000,  provided 
that  any  place  would  subscribe  the  same  sum  for 
its  location.  Three  places  in  the  county  came 
forward  with  pledges  to  that  amount — Portland 
[Sandusky  city],  Monroeville,  and  Milan.  *  *  * 
At  a  meeting  of  our  Presbytery  last  week,  they 
took  the  pledge  of  $2,000  off  the  hands  of  the 
Trustees.  So  you  see  we  start  with  a  capital  of 
$4,000.  We  intend  to  erect  a  brick  building  as 
soon  as  practicable  in  the  spring,  probably  three 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


77 


stories,  and  thirty-five  by  forty-five  or  fifty.  We 
intend  also  to  procure  some  chemical  and  philo- 
sophical apparatus.  We  hope  to  have  an  estab- 
lishment where  we  may  fit  for  College  all  who 
may  wish,  and  where  young  men  may  acquire 
still  higher  branches  who  may  be  too  old  to  ac- 
quire a  liberal  education,  and  still  wish  to  enter 
the  ministry.  We  shall  also,  as  soon  as  practica- 
ble, sustain  a  female  department,  and  a  depart- 
ment of  English  studies  for  young  men." 

The  Institute  was  to  be  a  manual-labor  School, 
in  accordance  with  the  universal  fashion  of  the 
clay.  It  had  originally  a  shop,  with  about  twelve 
acres  of  land.  The  manual  labor  part  of  it  took 
the  same  course  and  came  to  the  same  end  that  it 
did  in  other  similar  establishments.  The  three 
departments  of  which  he  speaks  never  existed  in 
the  Institute  as  separately  organized  parts.  When 
he  speaks  of  carrying  "  some  young  men  through 
their  studies  for  the  ministry,  where  they  may  be 
too  old  for  College,  and  may  wish  to  cut  short 
their  course,"  he  is  to  be  understood  as  referring 
to  the  studies  preparatory  to  the  proper  theological 
course  ;  for  it  does  not  appear  that  he  ever  pro- 
posed to  give  theological  education  at  the  Insti- 
tute, or  to  put  young  men  into  the  ministry  with- 
out such  an  education.  But,  although  a  firm  friend 
and  supporter  of  the  regular  collegiate  course,  he 
believed,  in  common  with  many  others,  that  ex- 
ceptions might  occasionally  exist  which  ought  to 
be  provided  for. 

7* 


78 


MEMOIR  OF 


The  people  of  Milan,  who  had  obtained  the  loca- 
tion of  the  Institute,  subsecpuently  increased  their 
subscription  to  $2,600.  In  the  whole  of  the  enter- 
prise Mr.  Judson  was  the  moving  power.  It  was 
not  his  nature  to  commit  to  others  the  execution 
of  a  plan  which  he  had  much  at  heart.  He  ob- 
tained all  the  subscriptions,  and  took  upon  his 
shoulders  the  whole  burden  of  superintending  the 
erection  of  the  building — a  burden  which  was  im- 
mensely increased  by  the  newness  of  the  region — 
even  to  the  purchase  of  the  materials,  and  to  the 
contracts  with  the  workmen.  The  edifice  was 
completed  and  the  Institute  went  into  operation 
in  1832. 

The  first  principal  was  the  Rev.  Eldad  Barber, 
with  whom  he  had  maintained  a  constant  episto- 
lary intercourse  since  the  time  of  their  separation 
at  Cleveland  in  1829.  The  cessation  of  this  in- 
tercourse, upon  the  removal  of  Mr.  Barber  to  Mi- 
lan, deprives  us  of  one  of  the  most  certain  means 
of  following  Mr.  Judson  in  his  toils  and  enterprises. 
For  this  reason  the  notices  of  his  ministerial  and 
other  labors  must  henceforward  be  briefer  and 
more  imperfect.  It  is  sufficient  here  to  say  that, 
as  far  as  we  can  follow  him,  we  find  his  labors  in 
the  way  of  preaching  and  holding  meetings  as 
abundant  as  before.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Mr. 
Barber,  written  in  January  1832,  he  had  said : 
"  I  have  undertaken  to  ride  circuit  this  winter." 
This  language  having  been  misunderstood,  he,  in 
the  next  letter,  explained  his  meaning  as  follows  : 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


79 


"  You  misunderstood  my  plan  of  circuit-riding. 
I  preach  in  Eldridge  and  Milan  as  usual,  but  de- 
vote my  evenings  almost  exclusively  to  preaching 
in  adjacent  places  through  the  week." 

The  year  after  the  completion  of  the  building 
for  the  Huron  Institute — the  year  1833 — the  Church 
left  "  the  yellow  school-house,"  and  commenced 
worshiping  in  the  lower  room  of  that  edifice. 
This  appears  to  have  been  to  the  Church  a  year  of 
great  prosperity,  as  the  records  show  the  addition 
of  thirty-nine  persons,  twenty -one  of  whom  were 
by  profession.  A  letter  written  by  Dr.  Chauncey 
Stuart  in  the  month  of  June  says  :  "  Religion  is 
gaining  ground  here  very  fast.  There  are  many, 
however,  especially  of  the  first  settlers  of  the 
county,  who  are  irreligious.  For  many  years  they 
had  no  preaching,  the  population  being  so  scat- 
tered. Some  of  them  have  become  skeptical,  and 
others  very  indifferent,  their  minds  being  wholly 
engrossed  with  the  world.  Mr.  Judson  is  here, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  men  in  the  county. 
He  is  a  very  popular  preacher,  and  is  doing  much 
good.  He  is  on  good  terms  with  all  classes  of 
men,  mingles  with  them,  and  gains  their  good  will. 
There  have  been  from  fifteen  to  twenty  conver- 
sions in  the  village  since  I  came  here — [he  had 
been  in  Milan  about  a  month.]  Mr.  Judson  has 
preached  every  Sunday,  and  Tuesday  and  Thursday 
evening.  He  not  only  puts  the  machinery  in  mo- 
tion, (as  every  thing  goes  by  steam-power  now-a- 
days)  but  keeps  putting  up  the  fire  under  the  ket- 
tle himself." 


80 


MEMOIR  OF 


The  concluding  paragraph  of  this  letter  inti- 
mates that,  at  this  time,  Mr.  Judson's  preaching 
and  measures  were  of  an  exciting  character — too 
exciting,  as  he  was  afterwards  fully  convinced — 
and  this  accords  with  the  fact  already  stated  that, 
about  this  time,  he  expressed  in  strong  language 
his  disapprobation  of  the  ground  which  he  had 
formerly  taken  against  exciting  measures — ground 
to  which  he  afterwards  returned,  and  upon  which 
he  stood  firm  till  the  day  of  his  death. 

It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  in  these  labors 
he  resorted  to  the  means  technically  called  "  new 
measures."  His  own  account  of  the  revival,  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Reed  from  a  conversation  which  he 
had  with  Mr.  Judson  on  board  a  steamer  between 
Buffalo  and  Sandusky  City,  and  inserted  in  Ma- 
theson  and  Reed's  Visit  to  the  American  Churches, 
is  the  following : 

"  The  second  occasion  [of  a  revival — he  had 
spoken  of  one  in  another  place]  was  connected 
with  the  death  of  an  aged  woman,  a  member  of 
the  Church,  and  a  'mother  in  Israel.'  She  had 
seven  children  ;  they  were  now  grown  up  and  set- 
tled in  life ;  but,  notwithstanding  all  her  instruc- 
tions and  prayers,  they  had  become  exceedingly 
worldly,  and,  during  her  life  time,  disregarded  se- 
rious religion.  Her  death,  however,  did  what  her 
life  had  failed  to  do.  Her  eldest  [it  should  be 
second]  daughter  was  much  affected  by  the  event, 
and  by  the  painful  reflections  it  brought  with  it. 
She  was  visited,  and  conversed  with.    Her  hus- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


81 


band  came  in  at  the  time  ;  and  the  conversation, 
without  changing  its  character,  naturally  turned  to 
him ;  and  the  season  justified  a  pointed  address, 
and  he  also  fell  under  the  force  of  salutary  convic- 
tion. Another  son,  who  was  brought  from  New 
York  to  the  funeral,  and  who  had  been  conspicuous 
in  the  infidel  club  in  that  city,  became  fearfully 
convicted  of  sin,  and  was  driven  to  temporary 
despair;  but  in  the  end  he  confessed  his  sins,  and 
professed  Christ  with  great  earnestness  and  deci- 
sion. In  such  a  rural  population  these  things 
would  not  be  done  in  a  corner,  but  would  be 
known  to  all.  They  had  a  very  beneficial  effect 
on  many  ;  and  the  good  minister  sought  a  careful 
improvement  of  the  dispensation.  The  effect  on 
this  family  was  that  five  of  the  seven  children 
were  united  to  the  Church  ;  and  the  effect  of  the 
two  seasons  of  revived  influence  [in  Milan  and  in 
the  other  place  before  mentioned]  was  that  about 
one  hundred  persons  gave  good  '  reason  of  the 
hope  that  was  in  them.'  No  particularity  of 
method  was  adopted  here;  and  the  anxious  seat 
was  not  used." — Matheson  and  Reed's  Visit.  Let- 
ter 10.* 

The  above  extract  is  valuable  as  exhibiting  one 
of  Mr.  Judson's  prime  excellencies  as  a  pastor, 
which  will  be  considered  more  at  large  in  another 

*  Some  corrections  should  be  made  of  the  incidents  stated  in  the 
above  letter.  The  son  to  whom  reference  is  made  was  not  called 
home  to  attend  his  mother's  funeral,  but  had  previously  returned. 
There  were  but  four  of  the  family  that  united  with  the  Church  as  the 
result  of  this  awakening. 


82 


MEMOIR  OF 


place — his  skill  in  seizing  upon  afflictive  dispensa- 
tions as  the  occasion  of  bringing  evangelical  truth 
before  the  mind. 

In  February  1835,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mrs.  Catharine  B.  Stuart.  This  union  was  con- 
ducive alike  to  his  comfort  and  his  usefulness  in 
the  ministry,  and  the  happy  influences  resulting 
therefrom  were  visible  to  the  close  of  his  earthly 
career. 

The  labor  of  superintending  the  erection  of  the 
Huron  Institute  was,  after  the  lapse  of  a  little 
more  than  two  years,  followed  by  a  still  more  ar- 
duous and  difficult  undertaking,  that  of  erecting  a 
brick  Church,  at  an  expense  exceeding  $8,000. 
In  January  1835,  a  few  citizens  convened,  at  the 
instance  of  Mr.  N.  M.  Standard,  to  devise  mea- 
sures for  the  erection  of  a  house  of  worship.  The 
result  was  the  completion  in  about  two  years  of 
the  present  brick  Church.  The  building  was  pro- 
jected, and  much  the  greater  part  of  the  expense 
sustained  by  those  who  were  not  members  of  the 
Church.  The  funds  were  raised  by  subscription. 
By  the  concession  of  all  persons  in  Milan  Mr.  Jud- 
son  was  the  life  and  soul  of  this  enterprise.  He 
circulated  the  subscription  paper,  collected  the 
subscription  in  great  part,  and  was  the  most  active 
and  efficient  of  the  building  committee — rather  he 
embodied  in  himself  the  energies  of  this  commit- 
tee :  for  he  humorously  says,  in  a  letter  to  his  sis- 
ter, now  Mrs.  Abbott,  dated  August  5,  1835 : 
"  Mr.  S.  and  myself  do  all  the  business  as  building 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


83 


committee,  and  as  he  is  gone,  the  whole  business 
devolves  on  me."  The  purchases  of  stone,  brick, 
timber,  etc.,  were  made  by  him.  "  If  you  wish  to 
know  how  I  am  employed,"  he  goes  on  to  say  in 
the  same  letter,  "just  think  of  me  with  my  little 
brown  roundabout,  and  my  big  paltn  hat,  stream- 
ing off  to  Berlin  for  stones,  to  Perkins  for  lime,  or 
to  Wakeman  for  lumber,  or  somewhere  else  for 
something  else,  on  my  old  Kate." 

The  erection  of  such  a  building  in  a  region  so 
new,  and  without  foreign  aid,  was  an  arduous  un- 
dertaking. Few  men  indeed  would  have  had 
courage  to  attempt,  or  resolution  and  resources  of 
ingenuity  and  contrivance  enough  to  carry  through 
the  work.  In  its  progress  great  difficulties  were 
encountered.  The  subscriptions  were  scattered 
all  over  the  place,  and  were  to  be  collected  at  a 
great  expense  of  time  and  patience.  He  often 
pledged  his  personal  credit,  and,  at  the  close  of  the 
work,  found  himself  loaded  with  a  bank  debt  of 
$300.  This  was  finally  taken  off  from  his  hands 
by  a  voluntary  subscription  of  some  of  the  citizens 
of  Milan. 

The  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Judson,  in  taking 
upon  himself  the  active  supervision  of  the  build- 
ing, even  to  the  purchase  of  the  materials,  is  not 
to  be  commended  to  pastors  as  an  example  for 
general  imitation.  Besides  other  infelicities  con- 
nected with  constant  absorption  in  pecuniary 
transactions,  it  must  necessarily  draw  them  away 
from  the  study,  in  mind  as  well  as  in  body,  and 


84 


MEMOIR  OF 


leave  their  preparations  for  the  Sabbath  meagre  and 
defective.  Though  Mr.  Judson's  christian  charac- 
ter and  reputation  were  never  tarnished  in  the 
least  by  any  of  the  numerous  business  transac- 
tions in  which  he  was  engaged — against  this  his 
good  judgment,  his  quick  perception  of  what  was 
fair  and  honorable,  and  his  abhorrence  of  all  mean- 
ness were  a  sufficient  guarantee — yet  his  pulpit 
performances  during  this  period  showed  that  he 
was  no  exception  to  the  rule  that  a  man's  thoughts 
cannot,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  be  absorbed  in 
two  different  objects.  His  sermons  wanted  that 
fulness  and  body  of  thought  which  can  be  secured 
only  by  the  preacher  who  complies  with  the  pre- 
cept of  inspiration,  "  Meditate  upon  these  things  ; 
give  thyself  wholly  to  them  ;  that  thy  profiting 
may  appear  to  all."  Of  this  he  was  himself  con- 
scious, and  freely  admitted  that,  as  a  general  prin- 
ciple, the  minister  of  Christ  should  leave  such  a 
work  as  this  to  the  laymen  of  his  congregation. 
But  he  justified  himself  on  the  ground  that  his 
situation  was  analagous  to  that  of  a  missionary 
who,  as  a  pioneer  preparing  the  way  for  future 
laborers,  is  under  the  necessity  of  doing  many 
things  which,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  were  bet- 
ter left  to  others.  "  The  region,"  so  he  argued, 
"is  new,  and  unaccustomed  to  such  undertakings. 
If  I  do  not  take  hold  of  it  personally,  it  will  fail." 
The  reaction  upon  his  own  mind  of  this  conscious 
deficiency  in  his  pulpit  preparations  during  the 
above  period — a  deficiency  which  the  best  part  of 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


85 


his  congregation  felt  the  most  severely — was  pro- 
bably one  of  the  causes  which  led,  soon  after,  to  a 
revolution  in  his  habits  of  preparing  sermons,  and 
caused  him  to  devote  himself  with  fresh  zeal  to 
the  proper  business  of  the  ministry. 

In  December  1835,  Mr.  Judson's  congregation 
left  the  Huron  Institute  and  commenced  worship- 
ping in  the  basement  of  the  new  Church.  About 
the  same  time  an  increased  religious  interest  be- 
gan to  manifest  itself.  Of  the  progress  and  results 
of  this,  Mr.  Judson  gives  the  following  account 
in  a  communication  to  the  Ohio  Observer  dated 
Feb.  13,  1836. 

"  It  may  be  well  to  advert  for  a  moment  to  the 
previous  state  of  religious  feeling  and  action 
among  us.  There  has  been  but  one  communion 
season  for  some  three  years  or  more,  (and  these 
seasons  occur  with  us  every  two  months,)  in  which 
some,  more  or  less,  have  not  by  profession  united 
with  this  Church,  and  conversions  have  occurred 
at  short  intervals  through  the  greater  part  of  the 
last  four  years.  The  last  summer  however  has 
been  with  us  one  of  unusual  stupidity.  My  own 
feeble  health,  the  people  having  thereby  been  de- 
prived, in  a  great  measure,  of  regular  preaching 
and  pastoral  labor,  and  the  excitement  occasioned 
by  successful  efforts  to  erect  a  large  and  somewhat 
expensive  Church,  may  have  been,  and  probably 
were,  the  more  efficient  causes  in  hindering  the 
work  of  God.  Early  in  the  fall  several  of  the 
8 


86 


MEMOIR  OF 


more  active  members  of  the  Church  became  more 
vigilant  and  more  zealous  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties  to  the  impenitent,  and  in  their  efforts  to 
awaken  their  brethren  and  sisters  in  the  Church. 

Increased  activity  among  Christians  and  a  more 
general  attendance  upon  religious  meetings  were 
all  the  marks  of  a  revival  of  religion  that  were  no- 
ticed, until  the  last  Sabbath  but  one  of  December, 
when  there  was  a  manifest  solemnity  upon  the 
whole  congregation.  Late  in  the  evening  of  that 
day,  a  young  man,  student  in  the  Huron  Institute, 
who  had  been  for  several  years  a  confirmed  Deist, 
sent  for  me  to  call  at  his  room.  I  found  him  in 
extreme  anguish  of  mind.  Before  morning  he  be- 
came willing  to  obey  the  Savior  and  receive  him 
by  faith.  In  the  course  of  ten  or  twelve  days, 
ther3  were  about  an  equal  number  of  conversions, 
chiefly  of  youth,  connected  with  the  Institute.  Mr. 
Hickok,  the  Principal,  and  the  students  of  the 
Institution  were  very  active  in  extending  their  la- 
bors into  the  village.  Just  at  this  time  Br.  R. 
Stone  came  into  the  place,  on  his  way  westward, 
and,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  Church,  spent  two 
weeks  in  very  efficient  labors  for  the  promotion  of 
the  revival.  One  week  of  this  time  was  employed 
in  a  protracted  meeting  which  resulted  in  great 
good.*  The  work  of  grace  still  goes  forward,  and 
every  week  from  the  commencement  of  the  revival 
to  the  present  time  has  added  some  to  the  number 

*  In  consequence  of  the  feeble  state  of  Mr.  Judson's  health  the  labor 
of  preaching  fell  mainly  upon  Mr.  Stone. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


87 


of  converts.  Last  Sabbath  was  our  communion 
season, — thirty-six,  three  of  whom  by  letter,  con- 
nected themselves  with  our  Church. 

About  one  half  the  number  knelt  around  the 
platform  to  receive  baptism  ;  the  others  had  been 
baptized  on  the  faith  of  their  parents.  Among 
them  were  persons  of  almost  every  age  and  of,  till 
recently,  almost  every  description  of  character. 
An  unusually  large  number  of  the  converts  is 
gathered  from  the  ranks  of  Infidelity  and  Univer- 
salism,  where,  in  perfect  keeping  with  their  faith, 
they  have  formerly  been  engaged  in  Sabbath- 
breaking,  profanity,  gambling,  the  midnight  ca- 
rouse, and  such  other  works  as  were  the  legitimate 
fruits  of  such  faith.  Others  will  probably  unite 
with  us  hereafter." 

Mr.  Judson,  at  the  time  when  this  communica- 
tion was  written,  reposed  great  confidence  in  these 
converts,  and  spoke  of  them  to  prominent  mem- 
bers of  his  Church  as  appearing  well.  In  a  letter 
to  his  sister,  of  the  same  date  as  the  above,  after 
detailing  the  facts  already  given,  he  adds  :  "  The 
addition,  at  one  time,  of  a  number  greater  than 
the  whole  Church  the  first  year  of  my  labors,  has 
created  emotions  of  no  ordinary  interest.  Nine 
were  added  two  months  before.  I  think  our 
Church  now  numbers  about  180.  I  wonder,  when 
I  remember  the  unworthy  instrument  of  which 
God  has  made  use  in  bringing  sinners  to  himself. 
I  am  astonished  at  myself,  so  unfruitful  and  un- 
worthy, and  yet  God  has,  in  no  mean  measure, 


88 


MEMOIR  OF 


owned  my  labors.  I  believe  there  has  been  but 
one  communion  season  in  which  some  have  not, 
for  the  first  time,  sat  down  with  us  at  the  table  of 
our  blessed  Lord.  The  revival  still  goes  on. 
Every  week  adds  to  the  number  of  the  converts." 

The  sanguine  hopes  which  he  entertained  re- 
specting the  fruits  of  this  revival,  were,  in  many 
cases,  destined  to  end  in  disappointment — such 
disappointment  as  he  did  not  experience  in  the 
case  of  any  other  revival  that  took  place  under  his 
ministry.  Numbers  of  the  converts,  indeed,  en- 
dured the  test  of  time,  and  proved  themselves  to 
be  stable  Christians ;  but  an  unusually  large  pro- 
portion were  of  that  class  who  "  receive  the  word 
with  joy,"  but  "  have  no  root,  which  for  a  while  be- 
lieve, and  in  time  of  temptation  fall  away."  Min- 
isters ought  not  to  be  lightly  censured  for  the  apos- 
tasy of  their  converts.  Such  apostasies  happened 
under  the  preaching  of  inspired  apostles,  and  will 
happen  in  all  ages.  All  for  which  the  preacher 
can  be  justly  held  responsible  is  "rightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth,"  so  as  to  adapt  it  with  care  and 
discrimination  to  the  wants  of  the  several  classes 
of  his  hearers.  But  when,  as  in  the  present  case, 
the  number  of  the  inconstant  is  greatly  multiplied, 
we  may  lawfully  inquire  after  the  causes. 

One  of  these  causes  maybe  found  in  the  previous 
character  of  many  of  the  converts.  Destitute,  as  they 
were,  of  a  religious  education,  and,  consequently,  ig- 
norant of  the  principles  of  the  gospel,  they  were  far 
more  liable  to  take  up  false  ideas  of  religion  than 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


89 


those  who  have  been  trained  up  in  the  bosom  of 
christian  families.  The  experience  of  the  christian 
Church  in  all  ages  shows  that  such  persons,  when 
they  first  become  interested  in  religion,  need,  as  a 
general  ride,  a  large  amount  of  instruction  on 
many  points  of  christian  faith  and  practice,  that 
they  may  become  well  settled  and  grounded  in  the 
christian  life  ;  and  that  they  are,  moreover,  pecu- 
liarly liable  to  mistake  the  false  fire  of  human  ex- 
citement for  the  genuine  flame  of  heavenly  love. 

Another  cause  manifestly  was  the  hurried  man- 
ner of  their  reception  into  the  Church.  Prudence 
would  have  dictated  that,  in  the  case,  at  least,  of 
persons  dug  out  of  the  mire  of  infidelity,  there 
should  have  been  considerable  delay,  enough,  cer- 
tainly, to  furnish  opportunity  for  repeated  inter- 
views with  the  candidates  for  church-membership. 
But  no  such  delay  took  place.  The  revival  did 
not  assume  a  marked  character  until  the  last  Sab- 
bath of  December  :  the  supposed  conversions  took 
place  throughout  the  month  of  January,  and,  on 
the  first  Sabbath  in  February,  we  find  thirty-three 
of  them  admitted  to  the  Church. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  exciting  topics  which 
were,  by  the  concession  of  all  who  attended  this 
protracted  meeting,  made  very  prominent,  were 
better  adapted  to  arouse  the  minds  of  the  young 
and  ignorant,  than  to  enlighten  them  in  the  nature 
of  true  religion.  Now  universal  experience,  as 
well  as  the  example  of  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles, 
shows  that  men  need  not  only  to  be  excited  to 
8* 


90 


MEMOIR  OF 


seek  the  way  of  life,  but  also  to  be  carefully  di- 
rected into  it,  and  taught  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  many  false  ways  that  lead  off  from  it ;  and 
that  where  this  necessary  work  is,  for  any  cause, 
omitted,  it  may  be  expected  that  false  hopes  will 
greatly  abound.  When  we  take  into  account  all 
these  circumstances  we  need  not  be  greatly  sur- 
prised that  one  who  is  every  way  a  competent 
witness  should  bear  the  following  testimony: — 
"  I  do  not  know  of  any  who  had  previously  been 
infidel  in  their  sentiments  who  persevered." 

This  painful  result  administered  to  Mr.  Judson 
a  salutary  lesson  of  instruction  which  he  did  not 
fail  to  improve.  "  It  is  my  impression,"  says  the 
witness  whose  words  have  been  just  quoted,  "  that 
this  was  the  taming  point  in  his  history.  His 
manner  of  preaching  began  from  that  time  to  be 
more  mellow,  and,  in  speaking  of  this  effort,  he 
condemned  it.  He  never  afterwards  engaged  in 
protracted  meetings." 


CHAPTER  VII. 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  OF  1837,  TO    THE    CLOSE  OF 
HIS   PUBLIC   LABORS   IN   DECEMBER  1847. 

The  new  Church  was  dedicated  on  the  last  day 
of  January  1837.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Judson 
preached  a  written  sermon,  the  first  written  sermon 
of  his  that  is  extant  after  the  period  of  extempore 
sermons  already  noticed.  When  the  congregation 
had  become  settled  in  their  new  house  of  worship, 
and  he  had  obtained  more  leisure,  he  began  with 
the  custom  of  writing  one  sermon  a  week,  which 
he  delivered  in  the  morning.  His  afternoon  dis- 
courses were  unwritten.  During  the  last  three 
years  of  his  ministry,  however,  he  generally 
preached  two  written  sermons,  the  second  being 
one  that  had  been  delivered  on  a  former  occasion. 
Dissatisfaction  on  his  own  part,  as  well  as  on  that 
of  many  of  the  best  men  in  his  congregation,  was 
the  cause  of  his  resuming  the  practice  of  writing. 
There  was,  on  the  minds  of  some  of  his  people,  a 
prejudice  against  written  discourses,  but,  having 
made  up  his  mind  in  respect  to  his  duty,  he  went 


92 


MEMOIR  OF 


steadily  forward,  and  all  complaint  soon  disap- 
peared. From  this  time  to  the  close  of  his  min- 
istry his  sermons  steadily  improved  in  fulness  and 
richness  of  thought. 

It  was  about  the  same  time  also  that  he  began 
to  give  increased  attention  to  reading.  Up  to  this 
period  his  library  had  been  but  scantily  furnished. 
After  he  resumed  the  habit  of  writing  his  dis- 
courses, it  grew  rapidly.  Nor  was  it  kept  for 
empty  show.  No  man  better  understood  the  art 
of  appropriating  to  the  topic  under  discussion  the 
facts  and  principles  that  occurred  in  the  course  of 
his  reading.  From  encyclopaedias,  from  books  of 
travel,  from  civil  as  well  as  natural  history,  he 
drew  illustrations  of  evangelical  truths.  And,  as 
his  reading  was  various  and  extensive,  this  habit 
imparted,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  ministry,  a  pecu- 
liar interest  to  his  discourses. 

Intimately  connected  with  these  two  things,  the 
change  in  his  habit  of  preparing  sermons  and  his 
increased  attention  to  reading,  was  a  wider  range 
of  topics  in  his  pulpit  ministrations.  In  a  sermon 
preached  before  the  Synod  of  the  Western  Reserve 
in  the  fall  of  1837,  he  dwelt  at  large  upon  the  in- 
jurious consequences  of  a  minister's  confining 
himself  too  exclusively  to  a  few  favorite  themes, 
whether  they  be  of  the  tender  and  moving  kind, 
or  of  the  more  solemn  and  awful ;  and  insisted 
earnestly  on  the  importance  of  exhibiting  all  the 
parts  of  gospel  truth  in  just  proportion.  He  spoke 
from  his  own  experience.    To  an  intimate  friend 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


93 


and  fellow-laborer  he  said  :  "  I  once  thought  that, 
by  dwelling  on  exciting  topics  when  my  heart  was 
warm,  I  could  keep  the  attention  of  the  people: 
but  I  found  I  was  mistaken.  This  convinced  me 
that  there  was  a  fault  somewhere.  I  determined 
to  return  to  my  old  habit  of  preaching  written  ser- 
mons upon  less  exciting  topics,  and  with  a  wider 
range  of  subjects,  and  see  what  the  result  would 
be."  This  method  he  found  more  successful.  His 
hearers  remarked  that,  from  this  time  forth,  there 
was  a  manifest  improvement  in  his  discourses. 
They  were  fuller,  more  instructive,  and  left  behind 
a  deeper  and  more  definite  impression.  In  the 
Biblical  Repository  for  1847  is  an  article  from  his 
pen  (ascribed  by  mistake  to  another  author)  on  the 
"  Range  of  Topics  for  the  Pulpit,"  in  which  he 
sets  forth  in  a  very  striking  way  the  necessity  of 
variety  in  the  themes  of  the  pulpit.  This  article 
also,  like  the  sermon  just  alluded  to,  sprung  from 
the  depths  of  his  own  experience,  and  although,  in 
some  few  passages,  unguarded,  and  liable,  perhaps, 
to  misapprehension,  it  is,  upon  the  whole,  very  in- 
structive to  the  young  minister,  and  furnishes  the 
key  which  unlocks  the  secret  of  the  author's  suc- 
cess in  maintaining  year  after  year  the  interest  of 
his  hearers. 

The  same  year  of  1837  witnessed  his  installa- 
tion as  pastor  of  the  Church  in  Milan.  This  event 
took  place  in  the  latter  part  of  May.  To  a  formal 
settlement  he  had  before  been,  if  not  opposed,  at 
least  indifferent,    For  nearly  eight  years  had  he 


94 


MEMOIR  OF 


ministered  to  the  people  of  Milan  with  no  other 
than  a  temporary  engagement  from  year  to  year 
between  himself  and  them.  When  he  first  com- 
menced his  labors  in  Milan  the  churches  in  the 
region  had  fallen  into  a  very  unsettled  state.  Dis- 
missions were  frequent,  and  often  for  slight  rea- 
sons. He  seems  to  have  unfortunately  taken  up 
the  idea  that,  in  the  existing  state  of  things,  in- 
stallations could  be  only  an  unmeaning  ceremony. 
His  people  had  early  given  him  a  call,  upon  which 
he  had,  for  years,  neglected  to  act.  The  influence 
of  his  example  was  greatly  felt  in  the  vicinity,  and 
went  to  encourage  laxity  in  the  relations  of  minis- 
ters to  their  people.  When  this  state  of  things 
had  existed  for  a  considerable  length  of  time, 
Judge  Brown  of  Brownhelm,  who  always  insisted 
earnestly  on  the  importance  of  installations,  sent 
to  Mr.  Judson,  whom  he  numbered  among  his  in- 
timate friends,  a  message  to  the  purport  that  his 
example  on  the  subject  of  installation  was  doing 
great  injury  to  the  churches,  and  that  it  furnfshed 
the  strongest  argument  which  they  could  urge 
against  its  importance.  By  this  remonstrance  he 
was  deeply  affected,  and,  from  that  time,  he  began 
to  reconsider  the  grounds  on  which  he  had  stood, 
and  finally  decided  to  yield  to  the  wishes  of  both 
his  people  and  his  brethren  in  the  ministry. 

In  a  letter  to  his  parents,  written  a  short  time 
before  his  installation,  he  represents  himself  as  in- 
fluenced mainly  by  the  wishes  of  his  people.  "  My 
people,"  he  says,  "have  been  urgent  for  sometime 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


95 


past  to  have  me  installed  as  their  pastor.  I  have 
regarded  it  as  rather  an  unnecessary  form,  and 
have  felt  reluctant ;  but  have  finally  consented  to 
the  call  of  the  Presbytery  for  my  installation  two 
weeks  from  next  Tuesday.  The  courtship  has 
been  a  long  one — nearly  eight  years.  Whether  it 
will  be  a  happy  match  time  must  determine. 
Should  it  not  prove  so,  the  evil  will  not  be  ascribed, 
I  think,  to  "  hasty  union."  The  salary  proposed 
in  the  call  is  $600,  payable  in  four  ecjual  quarterly 
installments.  There  has  never  been  even  a  tempo- 
rary engagement  between  us  until  the  present  time. 
I  have  always  been  at  liberty  to  go,  and  they  to 
turn  me  off  at  a  moment's  warning.*  I  do  not 
suppose  it  will  change  my  feelings  or  conduct  an 
iota.  It  is  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  my  people 
rather  than  my  own,  that  I  have  consented  to  their 
solicitations.  They  have  heretofore  been  governed 
by  their  own  benevolence  in  the  amount  of  my 
salary  ;  yet  I  have  fared  better  than  I  had  a  right 
to  expect.  I  suppose  few  ministers  have  a  kinder 
or  more  affectionate  people.  They  are  stable,  con- 
sistent, and  intelligent  also.  I  should  not  feel  re- 
luctant to  compare  my  Church  with  almost  any 
Church  in  Connecticut  for  intelligence,  or  benevo- 
lence, or  high  christian  character." 

After  the  "  union  "  between  him  and  his  people 
was  consummated,  he  seems  to  have  felt  that  it 

*  This  language  seems  to  be  unwarrantably  strong-.  His  congrega- 
tion had,  if  the  author  is  rightly  informed,  acted  from  year  to  year  in 
reference  to  the  employment  of  him  as  their  minister,  though  there  had 
been  no  fixed  permanent  arrangement  between  him  and  them. 


96 


MEMOIR  OF 


was  something  more  than  a  mere  form,  and  his 
influence  was,  thenceforward,  in  favor  of  the  regu- 
lar induction  of  ministers  into  office. 

When  now  we  take  into  account  all  these  near- 
ly cotemporaneous  changes — his  return  to  written 
discourses;  his  increased  attention  to  reading; 
the  wider  range  of  his  pulpit  themes  ;  his  regular 
induction  into  the  pastoral  office  ;  and  the  mel- 
lowed tone  of  his  ministrations — we  see  that  his 
mind  received,  about  this  time,  a  new  and  strong 
impulse  in  an  upward  direction  ;  and  that  his 
ministry,  although  remaining  in  its  essential  fea- 
tures the  same,  was  yet  cast  in  a  new  and  more 
perfect  mould. 

If  we  look  for  the  human  grounds  of  these 
changes,  we  shall  find  them  partly  in  his  own 
experience  and  reflection  upon  his  past  mistakes, 
and  partly  in  the  silent  influence  of  other  minds 
with  which  he  was  brought  into  contact — an  in- 
fluence to  which  he  was  peculiarly  susceptible, 
and  from  which  he  did  not  fail  to  derive  profit, 
though  perhaps  often,  as  is  the  case  with  all  other 
men,  in  an  unconscious  way. 

It  was  not  till  a  later  period  that  he  introduced 
the  plan  of  Bible  classes,  for  conducting  which  he 
possessed  rare  qualifications.  Some  years  before 
his  death  he  fell  into  the  method  of  engaging  a 
few  who  were  willing  to  answer  questions,  while 
the  main  body  of  the  youth  sat  as  silent  hearers. 
He  occupied  most  of  the  time  in  expanding  the 
answers  to  the  various  questions,  and  enlarging 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


97 


upon  the  topics  which  came  up  in  the  course  of 
the  exercise  ;  introducing,  as  he  proceeded,  illus- 
trations gathered  from  his  reading  and  his  inter- 
course with  society.  In  this  way  he  went  through 
the  gospel  of  Luke  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  then  took  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  He 
had  nearly  completed  this  Epistle  when  disease 
arrested  him.  On  this  exercise  he  placed  great 
reliance  as  a  means  of  interesting  and  instructing 
the  youth  of  his  congregation.  To  an  intimate 
friend  he  said  that  he  spent  more  time  in  prepa- 
ring for  his  Bible  class  than  for  either  of  his  other 
services,  and  that  he  regarded  it  as  a  more  efficient 
means  of  instructing  his  people  than  any  other. 
In  lecturing  before  his  Bible  class  on  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  he  gave  an  elaborate  description 
of  the  temple,  and  conveyed  to  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  an  idea  of  its  size  by  comparing  it  with 
known  areas  in  Milan.  By  the  aid  of  such  illus- 
trations he  added  much  interest  to  the  exercise. 

He  also  delivered,  during  the  same  period, 
several  courses  of  sermons  on  various  topics. 
Among  these  are  seven  on  the  Duties  of  Parents ; 
four  on  the  Church;  eight  on  the  History  of  Fa- 
naticism ;  and  seven  on  the  Evidences  of  Revela- 
tion. The  last  of  these  courses,  which  cost  him 
a  great  amount  of  labor  and  research,  was  never 
completed.  The  exhaustion  incident  to  the  pre- 
paration of  such  a  series  of  discourses  was  one  of 
the  causes  that  contributed  to  bring  on  that  fatal 
9 


98 


MEMOIR  OF 


attack  which  put  an  end  to  his  labors  in  the 
ministry. 

From  the  year  1837  to  the  close  of  his  ministry, 
his  labors,  if  not  externally  so  varied  and  exhaust- 
ing as  in  some  former  years,  were  yet  very  abun- 
dant, and  the  amount  of  preparation  bestowed 
upon  them  was  far  greater  than  before.  It  was 
the  privilege  of  the  author  to  spend  a  Sabbath 
with  him  in  the  spring  of  1847.  At  this  time  the 
regular  order  of  his  exercises  on  the  Sabbath,  be- 
sides the  Thursday  evening  meeting,  was  as  fol- 
lows : — two  sermons  from  the  pulpit,  in  preparing 
the  former  of  which  he  was  occupied  till  the  very 
hour  of  meeting  ;  an  afternoon  neighborhood  meet- 
ing at  five  o'clock  in  the  north  part  of  his  parish 
four  or  five  miles  from  his  house  of  worship,  where 
he  delivered  a  familiar  extemporaneous  address ; 
and,  finally,  a  Bible  class  in  the  evening  in  the 
body  of  the  Church.  To  this  latter  exercise  he 
attached  great  importance  as  a  means  of  interest- 
ing the  youth  of  his  congregation,  and  he  had  evi- 
dently prepared  himself  for  it  with  much  care. 
The  lesson  was  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
and  he  unfolded  some  of  the  deepest  principles  of 
the  gospel  in  a  very  simple  and  happy  manner. 
To  a  suggestion  that  the  amount  of  labor  which 
he  had  taken  upon  himself  was  greater  than  he 
could  sustain,  he  answered,  "  I  mean  to  make 
these  labors  easy.  Work  does  not  come  so  hard 
to  me  as  to  some."  When  further  pressed  with 
the  inexpediency  of  undertaking  so  much,  he  cut 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


99 


the  matter  short  by  replying:  "  Brother  B  ," 

(this  was  with  him  a  usual  way  of  beginning  an 
earnest  and  decided  remark,)  "  I  cannot  keep  my 
young  people  together  without  labor.  If  a  minis- 
ter would  keep  up  the  interest  of  his  congregation 
in  these  times  he  must  work." 

During  the  whole  of  this  latter  period  of  his 
ministry  the  growth  of  his  Church  was  steady  and 
healthful.  Some  seasons  of  special  religious  in- 
terest are  to  be  noted.  The  first  was  in  the  winter 
of  1839^10.  It  commenced  in  the  northern  part  of 
his  parish,  to  which  it  was  mainly  confined.  All 
the  public  exercises  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Judson 
himself.  He  held  meetings  in  one  of  the  school- 
houses  every  night  for  a  week  or  more,  then  every 
other  night,  and  afterwards  less  frequently.  He 
also  held  meetings  for  religious  conversation  in 
different  houses  in  the  neighborhood,  and  visited 
from  house  to  house.  This  revival  was  remarka- 
ble for  the  conversion  of  a  number  of  heads  of 
families.  Some  of  the  youth  were  interested  in  it, 
but  the  majority  were  heads  of  families.  The 
number  who  were  added  to  the  Church  by  profes- 
sion in  1840  was  twenty-four. 

In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1842  there  was  an  unu- 
sual religious  interest  mostly  among  the  youth  of 
the  congregation.  In  the  year  following,  as  the 
result  of  this,  fourteen  united  with  the  Church  by 
profession. 

A  very  interesting  religious  interest  existed 
throughout  the  entire  year  of  1846,  and  quite  a 


100 


MEMOIR  OF 


number  were  added  to  the  Church.  There  con- 
tinued to  be  more  or  less  conversions  till  Mr.  Jud- 
son  was  laid  aside  by  his  last  illness.  The  re- 
cords of  the  Church  show  the  addition  by  profes- 
sion of  twenty-three  persons  during  the  years  1846 
and  1847.  The  whole  number  added  to  the 
Church  by  profession,  from  1838  to  1847  inclusive, 
is  seventy  persons. 

This  historical  sketch  of  the  progress  of  religion 
in  Milan  may  be  very  properly  closed  with  an  ex- 
tract from  one  of  Mr.  Judson's  letters  written  to  a 
friend  in  Connecticut  in  November  1846,  which 
contains  his  own  view  of  the  matter. 

"  Our  Church  has  held  on  an  even  course  most 
of  the  time  since  I  came  here.  There  is  a  large 
per  centage  of  our  Western  population  that  is  of 
a  floating  character.  For  three  years  preceding 
this,  as  many  as  sixty-five  members  of  our  Church 
have  removed  out  of  the  place.  I  think,  take  one 
year  with  another,  we  dismiss  on  letter  as  many 
as  we  receive  by  letter.  There  is,  however,  a  large 
portion  of  the  stable  and  valuable  part  of  our 
Church  that  remain,  and  have  been  here  for  years. 
When  I  came  here,  seventeen  years  ago,  there 
were  thirty  members.  We  make  one  report  yearly 
to  the  Presbytery,  and,  during  the  seventeen  years, 
each  successive  report  has  been  a  little  larger  than 
the  report  of  the  previous  year.  We  now  report 
214.  It  is  in  size  the  second  Church  on  the  West- 
ern Reserve.  The  First  Church  in  Cleveland  is 
the  only  one  that  has  a  greater  number  of  mem- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


101 


bers.  When  I  came  here  there  were  within  the 
same  bounds  forty-five  churches  that  numbered 
more  members  than  this.  We  owe  much  to  God 
for  such  continued  prosperity:  nay,  it  is  all  of 
him." 

In  August  1842,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Western  Reserve  College. 
At  the  same  time  an  urgent  request  was  presented 
to  him  to  relinquish  his  pastoral  office  in  Milan, 
that  he  might  take  an  agency  for  the  endowment 
of  1he  College.  This  was  a  dark  period  in  the 
history  of  this  institution,  and  the  request  was 
urged  upon  him  with  no  little  importunity.  Mr. 
Judson  was  now  placed  in  a  very  trying  situation. 
On  the  one  side  he  was  greatly  interested  in  be- 
half of  the  College,  and  ready  to  make  almost  any 
sacrifice  that  he  felt  could  be  lawfully  made  for  its 
good.  Conversing  on  the  subject  with  the  author, 
he   said,   in   his   peculiar   and   emphatic  tone, 

u  Brother  B  ,  if  the  Western  Reserve  College 

is  to  die,  I  wish  to  lay  my  head  on  the  same 
block" — words  which  forcibly  expressed  the  feel- 
ing of  more  than  one  of  its  friends. 

But,  on  the  other  side,  he  found  himself  unable 
to  entertain  the  idea  of  leaving  a  Church  and  con- 
gregation that  had  grown  up  under  his  watch  and 
care,  and  very  many  of  whom  he  numbered  among 
his  spiritual  children.  To  his  confidential  friends 
he  often  said,  "  You  do'nt  know  how  my  heart 
yearns  over  these  members  of  the  flock  who  have 
9* 


102 


MEMOIR. 


been  brought  in  under  my  own  instrumentality." 
He  discovered  also  that  he  was  likely  to  meet  with 
the  strong  opposition  of  the  leading  men  in  his 
Church  and  congregation,  and  feared  the  results 
of  such  a  step  in  such  circumstances.  It  was 
these  considerations,  growing  out  of  his  pastoral 
relations,  and  not  any  balancing  of  worldly  mo- 
tives, that  induced  him  to  decline  the  offer. 

His  Church,  however,  by  a  formal  vote  passed 
January  8,  1843,  granted  him  leave  of  absence  for 
three  months,  to  engage  in  a  temporary  agency 
for  the  College.  Mr.  William  Russell  was  en- 
gaged by  the  College  to  supply  his  pulpit  in  the 
mean  time.  As  the  result  of  this  agency,  which 
lasted  three  months,  there  are  recorded  in  the  Col- 
lege books  donations  amounting  to  between  three 
and  four  thousand  dollars.  A  considerable  part  of 
these  was  in  property  and  not  in  money,  the  finan- 
cial affairs  of  the  Reserve  being  at  that  time  in  a 
depressed  condition.  He  also  raised,  subsequently 
to  this  agency,  sundry  sums  for  the  relief  of  the 
College,  one  of  which  he  brought  with  himself 
upon  his  last  visit  to  the  institution  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1847. 

Mr.  Judson's  services  as  a  Trustee  were  always 
highly  valued  both  by  the  Board  and  by  the  Fa- 
culty. His  excellent  judgment  and  his  uncommon 
talents  for  business  were  warmly  enlisted  in  the 
work  of  promoting  its  welfare,  and  when  he  was 
smitten  down  by  the  hand  of  disease  the  College 
felt  that  it  had  lost  the  services  of  one  of  its  most 
efficient  friends. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


REVIEW   OF   HIS   PUBLIC  LIFE. 


In  the  preceding  brief  sketch  of  Mr.  Jndson's 
life  and  labors  the  historical  order  has  been  fol- 
lowed. But  it  has  been  impossible,  in  pursuing 
this  order,  to  give  a  full  and  satisfactory  view  of 
him  in  his  various  capacities  as  a  public  man. 
The  difficulty  of  doing  so  is  increased  from  the 
fact  that,  for  the  largest  part  of  his  ministry,  but 
few  letters  written  by  him  can  be  found  ;  and  also 
from  his  never  having  kept  a  diary  of  his  labors. 
To  the  latter  practice  he  was  decidedly  opposed, 
on  the  ground  of  its  constituting  a  strong  tempta- 
tion to  throw  a  false  coloring  over  one's  christian 
life,  if  not  by  positive  misstatements,  at  least  by 
omissions  of  the  less  commendable  passages  in  it, 
and  by  giving  a  false  prominence  to  those  of  a 
better  character.  He  often  expressed  the  opinion 
that  few,  if  any,  write  a  religious  diary  without 
being  influenced  by  the  thought  that  it  may  at 
some  future  time,  come  before  the  eyes  of  their 
fellow  men — at  least  of  the  more  intimate  of  their 


104 


MEMOIR  OF 


surviving  friends.  Under  such  an  influence  he  be- 
lieved that  it  does  not  belong  to  human  nature  to 
lay  open  the  inmost  depths  of  the  soul  without 
reserve  or  concealment ;  and  that,  even  where  in- 
firmities and  sins  are  dwelt  upon  with  the  greatest 
apparent  openness  and  self-condemning  severity, 
it  is  apt  to  be  in  such  a  way  as  shall,  after  all,  re- 
dound to  the  writer's  praise  as  a  very  humble 
Christian.  The  only  journal  left  by  him  is  that 
of  his  Sunday  School  agency,  and  this  is  a  naked 
statement  of  places  visited,  sermons  preached, 
schools  formed,  subscriptions  taken  up,  and  the 
like  ;  with  only  two  brief  notices  of  his  feelings, 
both  of  a  self-condemning  character.  The  histori- 
cal view  of  him  being  thus  necessarily  inadequate, 
the  present  chapter  will  be  devoted  to  a  review 
of  his  public  life  under  the  several  heads  which 
follow. 

Section  I. 

Mr.  Judson  as  a  Preacher. 

We  have  seen  that,  in  the  beginning  of  his 
ministry,  he  wrote  all  his  discourses  which  were 
designed  for  the  pulpit.  His  own  statement,  con- 
tained in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Barber  under  date  of  De- 
cember 26,  1829,  is  :  "I  have  preached  all  my  old 
sermons,  and  am  now  thrown  entirely  upon  my 
own  resources.  I  do  not  extemporize  at  all."  In 
these  words  he  has  reference  to  his  regular  pulpit 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


105 


discourses  ;  for,  from  the  very  beginning  of  his 
ministry,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  delivering  un- 
written evening  lectures,  and  in  this  he  greatly 
excelled.  He  also  began  to  preach  occasionally 
on  the  Sabbath  without  notes  sometime  before  he 
became  absorbed  in  the  work  of  conducting  pro- 
tracted meetings.  He  said  on  one  occasion  to  a 
lady  of  his  congregation  with  whom  he  was 
boarding,  "  I  do  not  feel  able  to  prepare  two  ser- 
mons this  week  which  will  be  worth  my  people's 
attention."  She  said,  "  Why  not  preach  extempo- 
raneously ?"  From  that  time  he  began  to  do  so 
occasionally.  He  was  not  satisfied  with  his  early 
efforts,  but  remarked  that  perhaps  it  would  please 
the  congregation  at  large  as  well  as  if  he  were  to 
write  all  his  discourses. 

We  have  seen  how  he  was  first  led  into  the 
habit  of  preaching  exclusively  unwritten  sermons. 
His  labors  in  protracted  meetings  left  him  no  lei- 
sure for  writing.  The  exciting  themes,  moreover, 
too  exclusively  dwelt  upon  by  him  in  those  meet- 
ings were  not  congenial  to  the  use  of  the  pen. 
We  have  also  seen  why  he  returned  again  to  his 
first  practice  of  writing.  He  discovered  that  his 
extemporaneous  sermons  wanted  substance,  and 
did  not  interest  or  edify  his  people.  To  use  his 
own  expression,  he  found  himself  "  running  ashore" 
in  regard  to  variety  and  richness  of  thought,  and 
expressed  his  decided  conviction  that  such  a  mode 
of  preaching  could  not  for  any  long  time  be  em- 
ployed with  profit  by  one  who  had  charge  of  a 


106 


MEMOIR  OF 


congregation.  We  have  further  seen  that,  in  his 
own  judgment — a  judgment  sustained  by  the 
opinion  of  all  intelligent  men  who  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  hearing  for  themselves  and  witnessing 
the  results — his  people  were,  after  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  writing,  more  interested  and  profited 
than  before. 

And  yet  Mr.  Judson  possessed  many  desirable 
qualifications  for  an  extemporaneous  speaker. 
"  He  could,"  in  the  expressive  language  of  one 
who  was  long  aassociated  with  him  in  conducting 
protracted  meetings,  "  turn  himself  round  in  the 
harness  as  quick  as  any  man.  With  a  mere  skele- 
ton he  could  preach  a  powerful  sermon.  He  had 
a  peculiar  faculty  of  welding  on  to  a  discourse  al- 
most any  thing,  and  making  it  appear  as  if  it  grew 
there."  The  faculty  here  described  consists  in  the 
ability  to  perceive,  in  the  facts  of  history  and  in 
the  every  day  incidents  of  life,  principles  directly 
applicable  to  the  discourse  on  hand.  The  princi- 
ples being  in  place,  the  incidents  which  serve  as 
their  envelope  or  casket,  will,  of  course,  be  in  place 
also,  and  will  "  appear  as  if  they  grew  there."  Yet 
ordinary  minds,  not  having  discerned  the  princi- 
ples in  the  facts,  will  wonder  how  the  preacher 
could  bring  them  in  so  naturally  and  pertinently. 
For  one  who  is  called  to  speak  without  much  op- 
portunity of  premeditation  this  is  a  most  desirable 
faculty. 

It  is  not  wonderful,  then,  that  Mr.  Judson  should 
have  been  for  a  time  greatly  enamored  of  this 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


107 


mode  of  preaching,  and  should  have  expressed  his 
intention  not  to  write  many  more  sermons  ;  nor 
that  his  people  should  have  been,  at  first,  much 
pleased,  and  some  of  them  should  have  boasted 
that  "  their  minister  did  not  want  more  than  five 
minutes  any  time  to  prepare  a  sermon;"  nor  that 
the  influence  of  his  example,  with  that  of  other 
prominent  men,  should  have  made  unwritten  dis- 
courses for  the  time  being  a  very  popular  mode 
of  preaching  in  his  region. 

But  no  talents  for  extemporaneous  speaking  can 
long  sustain  the  preacher  unless  they  be  underlaid 
by  a  rich  stratum  of  well  digested  thought,  and 
this  requires  that  he  should  be  much  in  his  study, 
devoting  himself  there  to  reading,  meditation,  and 
writing.  The  homely  maxim  of  Franklin  respect- 
ing the  meal-tub  applies  in  its  full  force  to  the 
reservoir  of  human  thought.  He  who  is  always 
taking  out  of  it  without  putting  in,  will  soon  come 
to  the  bottom,  and  then  his  discourses  must  be- 
come dull  and  uninteresting.  By  the  excitement 
of  awful  and  soul-stirring  themes  he  may  for  a 
while  sustain  himself  and  keep  the  attention  of  his 
hearers.  But  this  will  be  found  in  the  end  to  be  a 
hardening  process.  For,  to  use  Mr.  Judson's  own 
similitude,  in  his  article  on  the  Range  of  Topics 
for  the  Pulpit,  "  the  thunder-storm  would  have  no 
terrors  for  one  who  had  spent  his  entire  life  amid 
its  roar." 


108 


MEMOIR  OF 


The  experience  of  Mr.  Judson  throws  some 
light  on  the  long-contested  question  of  the  com- 
parative advantages  of  written  and  unwritten  ser- 
mons. 

The  author  once  heard  the  habit  of  reading  ser- 
mons  condemned  by  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments 
of  the  American  pulpit  as  "  a  lazy  practice."  This 
sentence  of  condemnation  is  capable  of  being  un- 
derstood in  two  very  different  senses. 

If  the  speaker's  meaning  was  that  indolence  is 
in  general  the  cause  why  ministers  write  their 
discourses  instead  of  delivering  them  in  an  un- 
written form,  the  charge  is  refuted  by  observation 
and  experience.  Aversion  not  merely  to  the  ma- 
nual labor  of  writing,  but,  much  more,  to  the  se- 
vere and  continuous  thought  which  it  requires  is, 
with  too  many,  the  real  cause  which  determines 
them  to  the  method  of  preaching  ex  tempore. 
Others  have  a  more  honorable  reason,  as  did  the 
subject  of  this  memoir,  in  the  multiplicity  of  their 
engagements,  and,  along  with  this,  the  belief  that 
this  method  will  be,  upon  the  whole,  productive 
of  the  most  good  to  their  hearers. 

But  if  the  speaker's  meaning  was  that  to  pre- 
pare and  deliver  year  after  year  unwritten  dis- 
courses that  shall  be  as  rich  in  weighty  thought 
and  as  full  of  instruction  as  if  the  same  had  been 
carefully  written,  is  a  difficult  task,  from  the  labor 
of  which  most  preachers  shrink  through  indolence, 
then  it  may  be  replied  that  such  a  preparation  of 
unwritten  discourses  is  indeed  a  very  difficult  task 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


109 


— so  difficult  that,  with  the  great  body  of  preach- 
ers, the  ability  to  execute  it  cannot  be  attained 
without  much  previous  use  of  the  pen,  nor,  indeed, 
sustained  in  its  perfection  without  the  constant 
aid  of  the  same  instrument  If  there  be  any  who 
can  form  and  maintain  an  accurate,  compact,  and 
vigorous  style — the  true  style  of  the  pulpit  orator 
not  less  than  of  the  statesman — they  are  so  few 
that  we  need  here  make  no  account  of  them. 
Such  were  not  Demosthenes  and  Cicero  among 
the  ancient  orators.  Such,  we  have  lamentable 
evidence,  is  not  the  great  body  of  preachers  at 
the  present  day  who  wholly  discard  the  use  of  the 
pen. 

The  man  who  adopts  exclusively  the  extempo- 
raneous method  of  preaching  is  in  danger,  as  all 
admit,  of  falling  into  a  loose  and  rambling  style, 
which  must  soon  become  exceedingly  wearisome 
to  any  congregation.  Or,  if  his  ideas  of  order  will 
not  allow  this,  then  he  will  naturally  fall  into  the 
habit  of  laying  out  his  discourse  artificially,  with 
a  multitude  of  divisions  of  the  first,  second  and 
third  order,  partly  as  a  help  to  the  memory,  and 
partly  in  order  that,  if,  at  any  time,  his  mind  will 
not  work  freely  on  one  division  or  subdivision,  he 
may  have  ready  at  hand  a  convenient  retreat  in 
the  next  following.  The  effect  of  this  habit,  when 
long  continued,  will  be  to  convert  his  sermons  into 
rattling  skeletons,  plentifully  supplied  with  wired 
joints,  but  destitute  alike  of  flesh  and  blood,  and 
of  a  living  animating  spirit. 
10 


110 


MEMOIR  OF 


He  will,  moreover,  be  peculiarly  exposed  to 
another  error,  that  of  dwelling  too  exclusively 
upon  awful  and  soul-stirring  themes,  because  the 
excitement  which  these  produce  operates  for  the 
time  being  as  a  support  to  both  the  speaker  and 
the  hearers.  This  error  the  subject  of  the  present 
memoir  did  not  escape.  Of  his  extemporaneous 
sermons  one  testifies  that  they  "were  altogether 
different  from  those  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
preaching.  They  were  always  on  exciting  topics, 
and  excited  others."  Another  says,  "  His  unwrit- 
ten sermons  were  inferior  in  character,  and  gener- 
ally on  exciting  topics.  His  manner  was  vehe- 
ment. He  afterwards  told  me  he  was  satisfied 
that  he  could  not  embody  in  a  sermon  that  truth 
which  he  wanted,  unless  he  wrote  it  out.  He  was 
fully  satisfied  that  in  returning  to  writing  he  had 
done  right." 

Mr.  Judson's  experience  in  regard  to  embody- 
ing truth  in  a  discourse  by  the  help  of  the  pen 
was  not  peculiar.  Few  preachers  can  make  their 
unwritten  discourses,  delivered  year  after  year  to 
the  same  congregation,  rich  in  thought  and  in- 
struction, unless  they  interchange  them  with  those 
that  are  carefully  written  out,  whether  such  written 
discourses  be  read,  or  pronounced  memoriter,  or 
simply  used  as  a  means  of  accumulating  and  ar- 
ranging thought,  and  then  left  in  the  study,  with- 
out being  committed  to  memory. 

On  this  point  the  experience  of  the  prince  of 
Roman  orators  (speaking  in  the  name  of  Crassus) 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


Ill 


is  as  high  in  authority  as  the  argument  into  which 
he  has  woven  it  is  conclusive  in  reasoning.  "  The 
chief  thing,"  he  writes,  "which  (to  speak  the  truth) 
we  practice  very  little  (for  it  is  a  work  of  great 
labor,  which  most  of  us  shun)  is  to  write  as  much 
as  possible.  The  pen  is  the  best  and  most  excel- 
lent former  and  master  of  oratory  :  and  for  a  good 
reason  :  for  if  what  is  spoken  off  hand  and  at  ran- 
dom is  easily  surpassed  by  what  is  meditated  and 
thought  upon,  assuredly  even  this  latter  will  be 
outdone  by  constant  and  careful  writing.  For  all 
the  topics  of  argument,  whether  they  belong  to 
art,  or  to  a  certain  native  talent  and  skill,  will, 
provided  only  they  exist  in  the  subject  upon  which 
we  write,  appear  and  present  themselves  to  us 
while  we  investigate  and  reflect  with  the  whole 
power  of  our  mind.  And  all  the  most  perspicuous 
thoughts  and  words  which  belong  to  each  class 
must  of  necessity  come  up  and  pass  in  order  under 
the  point  of  the  pen."  And  he  justly  represents  it 
as  the  prerogative  of  the  man  who  devotes  much 
time  to  writing  that,  even  when  he  has  occasion 
to  speak  without  premeditation,  his  words  will 
still  bear  a  resemblance  to  written  discourse. 

The  above  words  of  Cicero  have  reference  to  the 
speaker  who  practises  ivriting  in  connection  with 
unwritten  discourse,  and  with  a  view  to  improve- 
ment in  the  latter  art.  To  unwritten  discourse 
undoubtedly  belongs  the  highest  and  most  effec- 
tive style  of  oratory — that  which  has  most  flexi- 
bility, most  capacity  of  adaptation  to  circum- 


112 


MEMOIR  OF 


stances,  and  most  power  to  move  the  human 
mind  ;  and  it  would  be  a  difficult  task  for  the  gos- 
pel minister  to  show  why  he  is  not  in  duty  bound 
to  strive  earnestly  for  the  possession  of  so  excel- 
lent a  gift.  The  preacher  who  gives  himself  up 
exclusively  to  the  practice  of  reading  his  sermons, 
without  any  effort  to  excel  in  unwritten  discourse, 
subjects  himself,  not  less  than  the  extemporaneous 
speaker,  to  some  temptations  that  are  not  easily 
resisted. 

In  the  first  place,  he  will  be  in  danger,  from  the 
amount  of  writing  demanded  of  him,  of  falling 
into  negligent  habits  of  composition,  whereby  the 
main  end  of  writing  will  be  in  a  great  degree  frus- 
trated. 

Then,  again;  he  will  be  peculiarly  liable  to  the 
evil  of  sliding,  insensibly  to  himself,  from  the  style 
of  personal  address  into  that  of  essay.  Especially, 
if  he  be  a  man  trained  to  habits  of  analysis  and 
generalization,  will  he  be  in  danger  of  falling  into 
an  abstract  and  complex  style,  which,  though  it 
may  be  very  majestic  and  ornate,  and,  to  thor- 
oughly educated  minds  very  attractive,  will  be  but 
poorly  adapted  to  edify  the  mass  of  his  hearers, 
and,  so  far  as  some  of  them  are  concerned,  might 
almost  as  well  be  in  an  unknown  tongue.  Here 
it  should  be  noticed  how  written  and  unwritten 
discourse  act  and  react  upon  each  other  in  a  most 
beneficial  way.  The  former  gives  accuracy,  com- 
pactness, and  fulness  of  thought,  the  latter  sim- 
plicity of  style,  and  directness  of  address. 


EVERTON  JUDSON, 


113 


It  is  well  known,  moreover,  that  many  of  the 
most  striking  and  effective  thoughts  of  a  discourse 
spring  up  in  the  progress  of  its  delivery  from  the 
inspiration  of  the  moment.  All  these  are  lost  to 
him  who  can  utter  nothing  but  what  he  has  first 
set  down  on  paper.  And,  lastly,  there  are  many 
occasions  upon  which  the  preacher  is  called  upon 
to  speak  without  the  possibility  of  much  previous 
preparation.  Who  will  say  that  he  ought  not  to 
train  himself,  at  whatever  expense,  to  the  habit  of 
speaking  well  on  such  occasions?  But  to  him 
who  is  exclusively  confined  to  his  notes  this  is  im- 
possible. 

The  conclusion  at  which  we  seem  to  arrive  is 
that  the  preacher  who  would  excel  in  the  pulpit 
ought  to  interchange  with  each  other,  more  or 
less,  the  forms  of  written  and  unwritten  discourse. 

In  extemporaneous  address  Mr.  Judson  always 
excelled,  although  he  found,  as  we  h  ive  seen,  that 
exclusive  adherence  to  it  was  very  unprofitable  to 
himself  and  his  people.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  abundant  use  of  the  form  of  unwritten 
discourse  contributed  its  share  to  that  simplicity 
and  transparency  of  style  which  marked  his  writ- 
ten sermons.  Yet  this  was  due  also,  in  great  mea- 
sure, to  the  native  character  of  his  mind.  It  was 
a  mind  formed  not  so  much  for  subtle  distinctions 
as  for  broad  and  comprehensive  views  of  things — 
a  mind  that  dealt  in  synthesis  much  more  than  in 
analysis.  He  was  no  metaphysician.  Indeed  it 
10* 


114 


MEMOIR  OF 


may  be  said  that  he  had  as  little  to  do  with  meta- 
physics as  with  Hebrew.  What  is  called  "meta- 
physical preaching"  was  bis  abhorrence.  He  never 
employed  it  himself,  and  was  unwilling  that  others 
should  employ  it.  Being  associated  once  with  a 
brother  minister  in  drawing  up  the  narrative  of 
the  state  of  religion  within  the  bounds  of  his 
Synod,  his  companion,  who,  as  chairman  of  the 
committee,  had  drafted  the  narrative,  came,  in 
reading  the  document  before  the  committee,  to  the 
word  u  subjective™  He  immediately  stopped  him 
and  exclaimed,  "  Do,  brother,  strike  out  that  word 
'  subjective?  I  hate  to  hear  it.  It  is  not  fit  to  be 
used  any  where  but  in  the  theological  chamber. 
The  people  do  not  understand  it."  The  distinc- 
tions which  he  made  were  such  as  are  obvious  to 
the  mass  of  mankind,  and  they  were  set  forth  in 
clear  and  intelligible  terms.  He  could,  therefore, 
be  understood  by  all  his  hearers.  His  preaching 
was  of  a  plain  and  practical  character,  not  ornate, 
abounding  in  solid  rather  than  brilliant  thoughts. 
He  used  (at  least  in  his  written  discourses)  no 
superfluous  repetitions,  but  advanced  steadily  to- 
wards the  point  to  be  proved  or  illustrated. 

Mr.  Judson's  temperament  was  ardent,  and  his 
conceptions  of  things  were  strong  and  lively. 
Hence  another  quality  of  his  style  was  its  animat- 
ed graphic  character.  It  was  that  kind  of  style 
which  conveys  to  the  mind  a  lively  picture  of  the 
object.    In  his  powers  of  description  he  greatly 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


115 


excelled.  He  would,  for  example,  set  forth  a  hyp- 
ocrite before  his  audience  so  that  they  could,  as 
it  were,  see  him  moving  before  them.  It  was  with 
him  a  frequent  practice  to  illustrate  a  single  idea 
by  exhibiting  it  in  different  aspects. 

His  power  of  sarcasm  was  not  less  remarkable 
than  that  of  description.  When  he  chose  he  could 
assail  vice  with  a  merciless  torrent  of  satire.  To 
this  he  was  in  his  early  ministrations  too  much 
addicted.  In  later  years  he  had  less  of  it :  for  he 
had  discovered  that  the  satirist's  lash  is,  as  an  or- 
dinary means  of  reformation,  powerless,  irritating 
wicked  men  without  subduing  them.  His  strokes 
of  sarcasm  were  now  not  only  more  infrequent, 
but  also  of  a  milder  and  more  subdued  character. 
One  of  their  most  common  objects  was  the  slan- 
derer and  mischief-maker,  a  personage  for  which 
he  entertained  a  profound  abhorrence,  and  which 
he  did  not  fail  to  exhibit  before  his  people  in  its 
true  colors.  Thus,  in  a  sermon  from  1  Peter  ii.  23, 
on  "  the.  duty  of  Christians  when  injured  by  others" 
he  says  :  "  Better  bear  your  griefs  alone  than  get 
up  a  circle  of  gossip,  which  will  banish  the  spirit 
of  Christ  from  the  bosoms  of  all  who  partake  of 
it.  There  is  too  much  tinder  in  the  bosom  of  the 
best  Christian  to  render  it  quite  safe  to  blow  up  a 
fire  there.  Some  people  seem  to  amuse  themselves 
by  seeing  how  many  and  how  violent  explosions 
they  can  make:  it  affords  as  much  pastime  as 
burning  gunpowder  does  to  boys;  but  it  gives  the 
heart-ache  to  all  sober  lookers-on  :  it  hinders  the 


116 


MEMOIR  OF 


progress  of  the  gospel,  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  and 
the  conversion  of  men." 

And,  urging  to  reconciliation,  he  says:  "  But  in 
a  majority  of  instances  you  will  find  perfect  recon- 
ciliation quite  easy.  In  more  than  half  the  cases 
it  will  appear,  upon  kind  inquiry,  that  you  have 
mistaken  the  real  nature  of  the  abuse  :  it  is  not  as 
bad  as  you  supposed  :  there  was  no  [bad]  motive 
in  the  bosom:  the  exaggeration  is  the  work  of 
some  one  of  that  numerous  army  of  news-carriers 
and  gossip-mongers  who  seem  to  think  they  have 
entrusted  to  them  a  monopoly  of  the  business  of 
manufacturing  quarrels,  and  who  are  as  diligent 
as  if  they  expected  a  large  per  centage  on  all  the 
neighborhood  broils  and  chnrch-difficulties  they 
can  get  up." 

He  had,  as  already  hinted,  a  rare  talent  of  wea- 
ving into  his  sermons,  lectures,  and  Bible-class  ex- 
ercises the  information  which  he  had  obtained  in 
the  course  of  his  reading,  and  that  in  the  most 
natural  and  easy  way,  so  that  the  results  of  his 
reading  always  appeared  in  his  pulpit  discourses. 
It  was  also  his  habit  to  draw  illustrations  from 
passing  events,  as  the  death  of  a  President,  the 
burning  of  a  steam-boat,  and  the  like. 

The  arrangement  and  division  of  his  sermons 
agreed  with  the  general  character  of  his  mind. 
For  subtleties  and  complications  he  had  no  relish, 
and  none  of  these  appear  in  the  written  discourses 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


117 


which  he  has  left.  They  are,  like  his  plans  of  ac- 
tion, marked  in  general  by  great  simplicity.  In 
very  many  of  them,  especially  those  of  an  earlier 
date,  a  few  co-ordinate  heads  complete  the  divi- 
sion. In  others,  his  thoughts  under  the  primary 
divisions  are  arranged  in  subordinate  heads. 
Rarely  indeed,  and  only  on  themes  of  a  peculiar 
character,  does  he  proceed  to  divisions  of  the  third 
order.  He  was  not  very  careful  to  observe  strict 
unity  of  form,  nor  a  nice  logical  arrangement  of 
topics  :  neither  did  he  always  express  his  main 
propositions  in  the  shortest  and  most  exact  form. 
Nevertheless  he  was  remarkably  successful  in 
bringing  his  thoughts  before  his  people  in  an  in- 
telligible and  interesting  shape.  The  best  possi- 
ble proof  of  this  exists  in  the  fact  that  the  mem- 
bers of  his  congregation,  old  and  young,  listened 
to  him  year  after  year  with  increasing  interest  and 
profit. 

In  exegesis,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  he 
never  excelled.  This  is  to  be  attributed  to  ihe  de- 
ficieney  of  his  education  in  respect  to  the  lan* 
guages.  He  once  delivered  a  course  of  expository 
sermons,  with  which  he  was  very  much  dissatis- 
fied, and  contracted  a  strong  antipathy  to  that 
method  of  preaching. 

Of  the  variety  of  topics  which  he  sought  to  in- 
troduce in  his  later  written  discourses  mention  has 
already  been  made.  His  views  on  this  point  are 
expressed  at  large  in  an  article  in  the  Biblical  Re^ 


118 


MEMOIR  OF 


pository  for  the  year  1847,  entitled  "  Range  of 
Topics  for  the  Pulpit."  From  this  article,  to  which 
reference  was  made  in  a  preceding  chapter,  a  few 
extracts  will  now  be  given. 

"  The  range  of  topics  which  are  considered  as 
legitimate  themes  for  pulpit  discussion,  as  this  is 
extended  or  contracted,  more  than  any  single  con- 
sideration, must  ever  affect  the  results  of  this  spe- 
cies of  intellectual  labor.  There  are  boundaries, 
even  in  morals,  which  the  pulpit  may  not  cross ; 
but  we  know  of  nothing  better  fitted  to  destroy  its 
influence,  than  the  confining  of  all  its  efforts  to  a 
few  common  themes.  No  matter  how  practical 
these  may  be,  no  matter  how  important,  no  matter 
how  scriptural.  It  is  said  that  Paul  was  the  most 
successful  preacher,  and  the  most  perfect  model 
with  which  God  has  favored  his  Churc  h ;  and  yet, 
at  Ephesus,  it  was  the  burden  of  all  his  labors  to 
unfold  the  way  of  salvation,  testifying  both  to  the 
Jews,  and  also  to  the  Greeks,  repentance  towards 
God,  and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ: 
while  at  Corinth  he  determined  to  know  nothing 
save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified;  a  theme,  to 
say  the  least,  quite  kindred  to  that  which  engaged 
his  attention  at  Ephesus. 

Two  things  should  be  taken  into  the  account, 
before  any  preacher  of  the  gospel  feels  bound  to 
restrict  himself  to  exact  conformity  to  this  example 
of  Paul. 

1.  Does  the  preacher  expect  as  short  a  resi- 
dence in  his  field  of  labor,  as  Paul  contemplated 
either  at  Corinth  or  at  Ephesus  ? 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


119 


2.  Are  the  people  to  whom  he  preaches  as  igno- 
rant of  the  vital  points  of  true  christian  faith,  as 
were  those  whom  Paul  addressed  ?  With  us  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  are  instilled  in  early  child- 
hood. The  labors  of  the  pulpit,  the  instructions 
of  the  Sabbath  school,  the  expositions  of  the  Bible 
class,  united  to  the  wide  diffusion  of  religious  truth 
from  the  press,  impart  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel, 
which  renders  the  whole  circle  of  religious  duties 
in  a  high  degree  familiar  to  even  the  youth  in  our 
congregations.  To  preach  habitually  the  same 
truths  which  Paul  preached,  in  the  cases  referred 
to,  is  the  surest  method  of  putting  the  conscience 
to  sleep.  The  thunder-storm  would  have  no  ter- 
rors for  one  who  had  spent  his  entire  life  amid  its 
roar;  the  tempest  that  blanches  the  cheek  of  the 
raw  recruit,  is  music  to  the  old  weather-beaten  tar. 
The  peasant  who  cultivates  the  rugged  sides  of 
Vesuvius,  so  near  to  the  burning  crater  as  never  to 
be  beyond  the  glare  of  its  lurid  light,  is  unmoved 
by  the  deep  rumbling  occasioned  by  its  hidden 
fires,  while  the  stranger  is  terrified  at  every  flash. 
So  faith  and  repentance,  Christ  and  him  crucified, 
may  fall  upon  the  sinner's  ear,  till,  like  the  dull 
monotony  of  a  waterfall,  the  sound  does  more  to 
hush  him  to  sleep  than  to  arouse  his  fears.  It  is 
sometimes  said  that  every  sermon  should  have 
enough  of  gospel  truth  to  lead  a  sinner  to  Christ, 
should  he  never  listen  again  to  a  discourse  from 
the  pulpit.  This  might  do  for  a  preacher  who, 
like  Whitefield,  was  to  be  ever  on  the  wing.  But 


120 


MEMOIR  OF 


let  any  pastor  attempt  this  course,  and  he  will 
soon  either  preach  his  hearers  to  sleep  or  out  of 
church.  It  is  our  solemn  conviction,  that  the  fre- 
quency with  which  the  pastoral  relation  has  been 
dissolved,  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  may  be 
attributed,  more  than  to  any  other  cause,  to  the 
limited  range  of  topics  introduced  for  discussion 
in  the  pulpit.  It  has  been  the  era  of  revivals,  and 
the  churches  must  have  '  revival  sermons.'  " — Bib. 
Repository  for  1847,  pp.  722-3. 

From  the  closing  sentence  of  the  above  extract, 
as  well  as  from  the  similitudes  employed  in  it,  it 
is  evident  that  Mr.  Judson  had  in  view  that  exci- 
ting and  impassioned  style  of  preaching  "  faith  and 
repentance,  Christ  and  him  ^crucified  "  which  has 
been  called  "  revival  preaching."  This  he  had 
himself  employed  in  his  itinerating  labors,  and  he 
seems  to  have  continued  the  use  of  it  among  his 
own  people,  until  he  became  aware  of  its  harden- 
ing and  soporiferous  influence.  Thus  much  we 
may  infer  from  his  acknowledgment  to  a  friend 
which  has  already  been  given.  "  I  once  thought 
that  by  dwelling  on  exciting  topics,  when  my 
heart  was  warm,  I  could  keep  up  the  attention  of 
my  people  :  but  I  found,  by  experience,  that  their 
attention  was  not  sustained." 

But,  while  endeavoring  to  expose  the  above 
error,  he  uses  language  which  is  unguarded,  and 
might  be  misapprehended  as  teaching  dangerous 
doctrine  of  another  kind.  To  hear  one  say  that 
"  faith  and  repentance,  Christ  and  him  crucified, 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


121 


may  fall  upon  the  sinner's  ear,  till,  like  the  dull 
monotony  of  a  waterfall,  the  sound  does  more  to 
hush  him  to  sleep  than  to  arouse  his  fears,"  sounds 
harsh  ;  and,  if  uttered  in  some  quarters,  would  lead 
to  the  suspicion  that  the  author  wished  to  have 
the  doctrine  of  "Christ  and  him  crucified"  dis- 
placed by  other  and  more  popular  themes.  Un- 
doubtedly the  doctrine  of  the  cross  is  the  centre — 
the  animating  principle — of  all  the  topics  which 
properly  come  within  the  range  of  the  pulpit ;  for 
the  pulpit  was  established  by  our  Lord  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  setting  forth  to  the  world  himself 
and  his  salvation.  Every  christian  duty  derives 
from  faith  in  a  crucified  Savior  all  its  vitality,  and 
is  to  be  inculcated  as  a  fruit  of  such  faith.  This 
was  the  uniform  practice  of  the  Apostles,  in 
which,  it  may  be  added,  they  were  faithfully  imi- 
tated by  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  Every  chris- 
tian virtue  they  represented  as  a  good  stream  flow- 
ing from  the  good  fountain  of  faith  in  Christ  cruci- 
fied. "  Be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  tender-hearted, 
forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's 
sake  hath  forgiven  you.''''  "  Walk  in  love,  as  Christ 
also  hath  loved  irs,  and  g  iven  himself  for  vs."  "  For- 
nication, and  all  uncleanness  and  covetousness, 
let  it  not  be  once  named  among  you,  as  becometh 
saints."  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God; 
and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  :  but 
we  know  that  when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  be 
like  him  ;  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  And  every 
man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him  purificth  himself 
11 


122 


MEMOIR  OF 


even  as  he  is  jnire"  Whoever  attempts  to  incul- 
cate a  system  of  social  duties  that  has  not  for  its 
foundation  the  principle  of  faith  in  Christ,  is  guilty 
of  the  same  folly  as  the  man  who  should  plow 
and  sow  the  snows  of  winter,  and  expect  to  reap 
a  harvest  matured  by  the  light  of  the  moon. 

But  while  all  this  is  true  and  important  to  be 
remembered  by  every  christian  preacher,  it  is 
equally  true,  that  to  be  always  dwelling  formally 
on  a  few  such  cardinal  doctrines  as  faith,  repen- 
tance, the  atonement,  regeneration,  and  the  final 
judgment,  is  both  contrary  to  the  example  of  the 
inspired  writers  (who  are  largely  occupied  with 
the  manifold  application  of  christian  principles  to 
the  every-day  duties  of  life)  and  hardening  in  its 
influence.  And  that  this  was  the  meaning  of  Mr. 
Judson  in  the  above  remarks  is  obvious,  as  well 
from  his  own  example,  as  from  the  general  tenor 
of  the  article.  Thus  understood  they  contain  a 
weighty  truth,  which  all  young  preachers  would 
do  well  to  ponder.* 

*  The  author  is  not  sure  but  that  a  brief  historic  note  may  be  neces- 
sary to  set  forth  the  true  course  of  events  to  which  Mr.  Judson  had 
reference  in  penning  the  above  strictures.  Such  a  note  he  ventures  to 
append  in  the  belief  that  it  will  best  exhibit  the  error  which  he  was 
combatting. 

From  about  the  year  1832  it  had  been  in  Northern  Ohio,  as  in  many 
other  regions,  the  era  of  protracted  meetings,  and,  what  was  intimately 
connected  with  these,  itinerant  evangelism.  These  protracted  meet- 
ings, in  the  beginning,  while  as  yet  they  were  regarded  simply  as 
means  of  bringing  divine  truth  to  bear  upon  men's  consciences,  and 
were  undertaken  in  simple-hearted  reliance  upon  God's  grace,  pro- 
duced, in  many  cases  at  least,  a  rich  harvest  of  permanent  good  fruits. 
But  (such  is  the  downward  tendency  of  every  thing  human)  it  so  hap- 
pened that  they  soon  came  to  be  invested,  in  the  eyes  of  the  many, 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


123 


In  proceeding  to  inquire  how  "  the  preacher  is 
to  study,  and  how  acquire  that  variety,  which  will 

with  a  certain  superstitious  charm,  as  if  they  possessed  some  specific 
efficacy  for  the  conversion  of  the  soul  to  God ;  and  the  people  (practi- 
cally, at  least,  whatever  may  have  been  their  theoretic  views)  learned 
to  rely  upon  them,  rather  than  upon  the  ordinary  means  of  grace,  for 
the  advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom.  Thus  they  degenerated  into  a 
species  of  evangelic  formalism,  and  became  true  opera  operata — spiri- 
tual machinery  that  might  be  expected,  when  set  in  motion  and  skill- 
fully managed,  to  elaborate  revivals  of  religion.  The  ministers  into 
whose  hands  the  chief  management  of  them  fell  were  led,  almost  of 
necessity,  to  restrict  themselves  to  a  few  set  themes,  which  Mr  Jud- 
gon  describes  as  "  faith  and  repentance,  Christ  and  him  crucified," 
using  the  words  in  their  narrow  and  restricied  sense.  This  was  espe- 
cially true  of  the  itinerating  evangelists,  whose  sojourn  with  particular 
churches  was  necessarily  brief,  and  from  whose  labors  great  present 
results  were  expected.  In  truth,  the  problem  proposed  to  them  was 
how  large  a  harvest  could  be  reaped,  and  sheaved,  and  housed,  in  a 
given  number  of  weeks  ;  and  upon  their  success  in  this  work  depended 
their  reputation  as  evangelists.  In  such  circumstances  it  is  not  in  hu- 
man nature  that  a  man  should  employ  those  gentler  influences  which, 
precisely  because  they  descend  deepest  into  the  moral  character,  are 
slow  in  their  operation,  and  require  time  for  the  development  of  out- 
ward results.  He  will  naturally  throw  himself,  as  did  these  evange- 
lists, rather  upon  those  more  exciting  themes  and  measures  from 
which  immediate  visible  effects  may  be  expected. 

The  author  most  earnestly  repudiates  the  sentiment  that  great  and 
sudden  effects  may  not  be  expected  to  accompany  the  true  scriptural 
presentation  of  the  gospel.  But  these,  at  least  in  evangelized  commu- 
nities, where  the  elementary  truths  of  the  gospel  are  familiar  to  men's 
minds,  will  generally  be  found  to  be  the  filial  issue  of  previous  influ- 
ences that  have  been  silently  penetrating  deep  into  the  inner  man. 
When  such  sudden  results  become  the  sole  thing  aimed  at,  there  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  must  degenerate  into  that  peculiar  exciting 
style  which  Mr  Judson  calls  "revival  preaching" — a  style  which  had 
been  very  popular  in  his  region,  and  which,  as  we  have  seen,  he  had 
himself  adopted. 

The  true  view  of  the  gospel  ministry  is  that,  while  the  doctrine  of 
Christ  crucified  must  ever  constitute  its  grand  central  theme,  all  the 
diversified  topics  which  are  discussed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  should  be 
clustered  around  it  in  rich  variety.  This  is  the  view  which  Mr.  Jud- 
son, in  the  later  years  of  his  ministry,  adopted,  and  so  successfully  car- 
ried out  into  practice. 


124 


MEMOIR  OF 


enlist  attention,  and  secure  the  listening  ear,  as 
the  best  means  of  gaining  the  consent  of  the 
heart,"  he  himself  recommends,  first  of  all,  this 
varied  application  of  christian  principles.  "  In  the 
first  place,"  he  says,  "  there  may  be  a  great  variety 
in  the  use  of  those  truths  that  are  usually  classed 
as  experimental  and  practical.  Much  may  be  done 
in  mere  adaptation  to  existing  circumstances." 
And,  in  illustrating  this  point,  he  draws  a  faithful 
portraiture  of  his  own  practice. 

"  We  might  name  the  pastor  of  a  Church,  who 
has  for  a  long  series  of  years,  made  special  efforts 
to  adapt  the  truth  to  the  circumstances,  and  press 
it  upon  the  consciences  of  the  families  of  his  pa- 
rish, whenever  they  have  been  visited  with  severe 
affliction,  and  almost  ever  with  the  happiest  suc- 
cess. It  is  believed  that  he  has  realized  more  ac- 
cessions to  his  Church,  in  connection  with  such 
instrumentalities,  than  from  all  other  means.  Let 
the  pulpit  seize  upon  every  stirring  incident,  upon 
all  distinguished  blessings,  upon  every  great  ca- 
lamity, whether  individual  or  public,  upon  what- 
ever in  passing  events,  even  if  it  be  but  an  ordi- 
nary political  election,  enlists  the  feelings  of  his 
parish,  and  use  it  to  illustrate  and  enforce  divine 
truth,  and  man's  obligation  to  God,  and  it  will 
not  be  a  vain  attempt." — p.  724. 

Another  field  of  topics  for  the  pulpit  he  finds  in 
unfolding  the  proofs  of  the  Divine  existence  and 
attributes,  especially  as  impressed  upon  the  works 
of  nature.    "  The  pastor,"  he  says,  "  who  cannot 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


125 


make  the  young  and  the  thoughtful  of  his  con- 
gregation hang  upon  his  lips,  and  become  intel- 
lectually charmed  with  the  field  on  which  God 
has  impressed  the  great  lineaments  of  his  own 
character,  has  lived  and  studied  with  but  half  his 
duty  before  his  mind. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  all  this  is  foreign  to  the 
suggestions  of  the  inspired  volume.  The  most 
beautiful  and  impressive  illustrations  of  moral 
truth  in  the  Bible,  are  derived  from  the  physical 
creation.  Whoever  has  read  the  parable  of  the 
sower,  the  story  of  Christ  weeping  over  Jerusalem, 
the  description  of  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
upon  Christ  at  his  baptism,  Christ's  conversation 
with  the  woman  of  Samaria,  and  a  great  variety 
of  the  most  inimitable  scenes  in  the  prophecies  of 
the  Old  Testament,  cannot  fail  to  have  admired 
the  appositeness  and  beauty  of  the  illustrations 
there  found,  while  he  is  impressed  with  the  truth 
of  the  Psalmist's  declaration,  that  the  works  of 
the  Lord  are  great,  sought  out  of  all  them  that 
have  pleasure  therein.  The  intelligence  of  a  con- 
gregation is  by  such  a  course  not  less  enhanced 
than  their  moral  improvement." — pp.  726-7. 

Another  inviting  field  he  finds  in  the  depart- 
ment of  "  Evidences  of  Revelation." 

"  Take,  as  an  illustration  of  this  remark,  the 
instruction  that  may  be  communicated  in  connec- 
tion with  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  Let  us  sup- 
pose that  the  preacher  selects  for  his  text,  "  Egypt 
shall  be  the  basest  of  kingdoms :"  or,  "  They  shall 
11* 


126 


MEMOIR  OF 


destroy  the  walls  of  Tyrus,  and  break  down  her 
towers ;  I  will  also  scrape  her  dust  from  off  her, 
and  make  her  like  the  top  of  a  rock  ;"  or  that  thril- 
ling passage  respecting  the  doom  of  Idumea, 
which  describes  it  as  lying  waste  from  generation 
to  generation.  With  such  themes,  let  him  collect 
from  the  best  authorities  the  history  of  the  great- 
ness, the  splendor,  the  commercial  importance  of 
these  cities  and  countries,  which  the  Lord  hath 
cursed,  while  from  authentic  modern  travelers,  he 
gathers  np  the  graphic  pictures  of  their  present 
ruins.  Let  the  present  and  the  past  be  placed  in 
striking  contrast,  while  due  prominence  is  given 
to  the  causes  that  have  been  in  operation  to  pro- 
duce the  results.  That  congregation  must  be  stu- 
pid indeed,  that  cannot  be  made  to  perceive  the 
truth  of  prophecy,  and  feel  the  power  and  terrible- 
ness  of  God's  arm  in  avenging  himself  against  the 
sinner,  in  the  discussion  of  such  topics.  While  it 
puts  into  the  hand  of  the  preacher  a  moral  lever 
of  immense  power,  it  may,  at  the  same  time,  be 
made  attractive,  by  the  fund  of  information  which 
it  spreads  before  the  eager  eye  of  those  anxious 
to  improve  their  knowledge  of  the  present  and  the 
past"— p.  727. 

This  last  extract  will  be  read  by  the  friends  of 
Mr.  Judson  with  mournful  interest.  For  it  was  in 
the  attempt  to  present  to  his  own  congregation 
such  a  contrast  between  the  present  and  the  past 
condition  of  Egypt  and  Tyre — an  attempt  in 
which  he  overtasked  his  powers — that  he  sank  un- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


127 


dcr  the  stroke  of  disease.  The  very  last  discourse 
written  and  preached  by  him,  in  pursuance  of  his 
course  of  sermons  on  the  Evidences  of  Revelation, 
was  from  Ezekiel  xxix.  15.  "  It  shall  be  the  basest 
of  kingdoms,  neither  shall  it  exalt  itself  any  more 
above  the  nations :  for  I  will  diminish  them  that 
they  shall  no  more  rule  over  the  nations." 

Another  course  which  he  proposes,  and  which 
he  also  pursued  in  his  series  of  discourses  entitled 
"  The  History  of  Fanaticism,"  is  the  history  of  the 
various  forms  which  error  has,  in  different  ages, 
assumed.  "  There  is  no  form  of  error,  be  it  ever  so 
repulsive,  that  lures  from  the  narrow  path  the  fee- 
bler, or  more  dull,  or  more  enthusiastic  disciple  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  but  has  had  its  day,  done 
its  mischief,  and  fallen  into  a  centennial  sleep  in 
some  previous  age.  Every  fashionable  and  every 
silly  form  of  human  folly  has  its  place  in  the  cycle. 
Nor  is  it  without  its  points,  rich  in  benevolence, 
and  fruitful  in  the  devisings  of  warm  hearts  and 
the  promptings  of  christian  love,  that  deserve  the 
approbation,  no  less  than  the  other,  the  reprehen- 
sion of  the  faithful  of  our  day. 

Nor  is  there  any  more  effective  method  of  en- 
forcing important  duties,  or  combatting  pernicious 
errors,  than  by  bringing  their  origin,  their  bearing, 
and  their  results,  their  whole  history,  from  the  dust 
of  ages,  and  revealing  it  to  the  eye  of  those  whom 
we  wish  to  warn  or  instruct.  Much  of  the  fanati- 
cism, and  many  of  the  forms  of  error  that  sprang 
up  at  the  time  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  in 


128 


MEMOIR  OF 


spite  of  the  holy  men  who  were  the  chief  actors  in 
that  drama,  were  scarcely  less  like  the  errors  and 
fanaticism  of  the  present  age,  than  the  successive 
editions  of  a  stereotyped  book.  They  bear  the 
same  image  and  superscription.  History  under 
such  circumstances  becomes  prophecy,  and  with 
this  advantage,  that  the  confirmation  of  the  be- 
ginning by  existing  facts,  conduces  strongly  to  a 
confirmation  of  the  end,  so  as  to  reveal  the  proba- 
ble termination  of  many  things  now  in  their  high- 
est state  of  prosperity." — p.  728. 

Nothing  more  just  and  striking!  and  if  some 
preachers  at  the  present  day,  as  well  as  scores  of 
churches  who  give  themselves  up  to  their  guidance, 
would  learn  from  the  history  of  the  past,  they 
might  save  themselves  the  pain  and  humiliation 
of  unlearning  their  errors  from  bitter  experience. 

But  how  does  Mr.  Judson  meet  the  difficulty  of 
the  want  of  books  to  enable  the  preacher  to  deliver 
such  courses  of  lectures  as  are  here  contemplated  ? 
Let  us  see. 

"  The  objection  may  be  felt  by  some,  who  are 
less  favored  than  their  brethren,  that  an  incompe- 
tent salary  deprives  them  of  a  library  of  such  ex- 
tent and  diversity,  as  would  afford  the  requisite 
aid  for  a  more  extended  range  of  topics  for  the 
pulpit.  The  common  doctrine  of  political  econo- 
my, that  the  demand  regulates  the  supply,  well 
applies  in  a  case  of  this  kind.  There  are  few  pa- 
rishes whose  young  men  would  not  feel  it  a  privi- 
lege, at  the  close  of  every  such  series  of  discourses 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


129 


as  has  been  contemplated  in  this  article,  to  furnish 
the  requisite  means  for  securing  a  similar  intellec- 
tual feast  in  future.  Persons  of  very  good  com- 
mon sense  sometimes  wonder  what  use  the  pastor 
who  only  preaches  "  doctrinal  discourses,"  or  "  re- 
vival sermons,"  can  have  for  many  books.  The 
range  of  topics  suggested  in  this  article,  thorough- 
ly and  elaborately  discussed  from  the  pulpit,  would 
solve  the  question  for  such  preachers,  and  lead  the 
congregation  to  supply  that  of  which  they  might 
not  otherwise  see  the  necessity." — pp.  729-30. 

If  Mr.  Judson's  practice  in  respect  to  diversity 
of  topics  is  to  be  warmly  commended,  the  same 
praise  cannot  be  awarded  to  his  habit  of  compos- 
ing sermons,  which  was  somewhat  peculiar.  He 
usually  commenced  the  business  of  writing  his 
sermon  for  the  Sabbath — for  which,  however,  at 
least  in  many  cases,  he  had  been  previously  col- 
lecting the  materials — on  Saturday  morning,  and 
wrote  till  noon.  The  afternoon  of  Saturday  he 
spent  out  of  his  study,  resuming  and  continuing 
his  work  in  the  evening.  On  Sabbath  morning 
he  went  to  his  study  at  5  o'clock,  and  wrote  till 
ten,  that  is,  till  it  was  time  to  leave  for  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  took  his  discourse  along,  with  the  ink 
hardly  dry.  This  he  did  not  from  procrastination, 
but  from  system.  In  a  conversation  which  the 
author  once  had  with  him  respecting  this  practice 
he  defended  it  on  the  ground  that  he  wished  to 
have  the  thoughts  of  his  sermon  fresh  and  glowing 


130 


MEMOIR  OF 


in  his  mind  ;  which  he  found  to  be  an  impossible 
thing  for  him  if  any  considerable  interval  was  al- 
lowed to  elapse  between  its  composition  and  its 
delivery.  He  further  argued  that  he  needed  the 
stimulus  of  the  position  in  which  the  Sabbath 
morning  placed  him ;  that,  with  his  congregation 
just  coming  together,  and,  as  it  were,  before  his 
eye,  he  could  write  with  more  force,  animation, 
and  directness,  than  in  any  other  circumstances. 

The  reality  of  this  advantage  to  a  man  of  Mr. 
Judson's  character  and  temperament  needs  not  be 
denied.  But  it  was  purchased  at  too  heavy  an 
expense.  One  obvious  consequence  of  this  method 
of  writing  was  that  he  left  few  sermons  that  can 
be  called  finished.  The  greater  number  of  them 
are  first  drafts,  rich  in  thought  and  abounding  in 
striking  illustrations,  but  unrevised  and  imperfect. 
This  fact  was  probably  one  of  the  considerations 
that  influenced  him  in  his  dying  injunction  that 
none  of  his  discourses  should  be  published. 

But  a  more  serious  evil  was  the  injury  which 
his  constitution  received  from  this  weekly  Sabbath 
morning  effort,  followed,  as  it  was  necessary  that 
it  should  be,  by  the  arduous  services  of  the  day. 
To  write  every  Sabbath  morning  from  five  till  ten 
under  the  strain  of  constant  excitement,  then  de- 
liver two  discourses  and  one  extemporaneous  lec- 
ture, and  conduct  a  Bible  class  in  the  evening  (on 
which  latter  exercise  he  laid  out,  as  we  have  seen, 
his  full  strength)  was  more  than  his  constitution 
could  bear,  and  was  one  cause  of  hastening  that 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


131 


catastrophe  which  put  a  sudden  and  final  end  to 
his  labors  in  Christ's  vineyard.  Of  this  he  him- 
self was  fully  sensible  when  it  was  too  late  to  re- 
pair the  mischief. 

In  regard  to  the  length  of  his  discourses  it  was 
a  maxim  with  Mr.  Judson  never  to  fatigue  his 
audience,  and  to  this  he  attached  great  importance. 
His  written  sermons  generally  occupied  less  than 
forty-five  minutes  in  the  delivery. 

From  what  has  already  been  said  the  reader 
will  understand  that  Mr.  Judson  had  no  relish  for 
the  abstruse  and  controverted  points  of  systematic 
theology.  He  did  not  willingly  discuss  them  in 
the  Ministers'  Meeting,  and  he  never  introduced 
them  into  his  pulpit.  In  his  general  views  he 
agreed  with  the  system  taught  in  the  Seminary  at 
which  he  received  his  theological  education.  The 
doctrine  of  the  predominant  volition  or  governing 
purpose,  as  giving  character  to  action,  he  adopted 
very  heartily  and  fully.  The  power  of  this  simple 
purpose  he  felt  in  his  own  soul  with  great  strength 
and  definiteness.  Habitually  to  do  all  for  Christ — 
this  was  his  idea  of  what  constitutes  true  christian 
character.  That  this  character  is,  though  free,  not 
self-originated,  but  produced  and  maintained  in 
the  soul  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that  he  most  firmly  believed  and 
taught  throughout  his  entire  ministry. 


132 


MEMOIR  OF 


Section  II. 
Mr.  Judson  as  a  Pastor. 

From  the  preceding  historical  sketch  of  Mr. 
Judson's  labors  in  Milan,  it  is  manifest  that  he  ex- 
celled in  the  discharge  of  pastoral  duties.  The 
steady  growth  and  prosperity  of  his  Church  du- 
ring the  entire  period  of  his  ministry  must  be  as- 
cribed to  the  blessing  of  God  upon  his  abundant 
and  wisely  directed  labors  ;  and  no  one  who  knew 
him  will  doubt  that  among  these,  the  pastoral 
held  the  foremost  place.  It  is  true  that  he  was 
favored  by  circumstances.  His  congregation  was 
located  in  a  flourishing  and  enterprising  commu- 
nity, steadily  increasing  in  population  and  wealth. 
But  secular  and  spiritual  prosperity  do  not  always 
go  hand  in  hand  ;  and,  where  they  do,  we  may 
lawfully  assume  that  it  is  through  God's  blessing 
bestowed  upon  the  appropriate  instrumentalities. 
If,  now,  we  examine  Mr.  Judson's  character  as  a 
pastor,  we  shall  find  in  this  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  the  continuous  prosperity  of  his  Church. 

In  the  first  place,  he  was  a  pastor  whose  whole 
soul  was  in  his  work.  He  took  the  oversight  of 
the  Lord's  flock  not  by  constraint,  but  willingly ; 
not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind."  This 
love  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  though  it  needs, 
indeed,  to  be  supported  and  guided  by  various 
good  moral  and  intellectual  qualifications,  is,  after 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


133 


all,  the  prime  preparation  for  usefulness,  and  one 
without  which  all  other  qualifications  are  void. 
No  work  is  ever  done  in  the  best  manner  unless 
the  heart  of  the  doer  is  in  it.  It  was  Mr.  Judson's 
love  for  his  office  that  made  him  so  thorough  in 
the  discharge  of  its  duties  ;  and  this  love,  having 
its  seat  deep  down  in  the  centre  of  his  soul,  con- 
strained him,  throughout  the  entire  period  of  his 
ministry,  to  do  whatever  his  hand  found  to  do 
with  his  might.  If  he  was  ever  temporarily  drawn 
aside  from  the  appropriate  work  of  a  pastor,  as  in 
superintending  the  erection  of  the  Huron  Institute 
and  his  own  house  of  worship,  it  was  because 
these  enterprises  were,  in  his  view,  identified  with 
the  cause  of  Christ.  The  distracting  influence  of 
these  two  interruptions,  particularly  the  latter,  he 
himself  felt  and  acknowledged  ;  and  (if  we  except 
his  brief  agency  for  the  Western  Reserve  College) 
he  never  afterwards  allowed  himself  to  be  drawn 
aside  from  his  proper  ministerial  duties.  During 
the  two  last  years  of  his  ministry,  in  particular, 
his  absorption  in  these  duties  became  more  entire, 
and  led  him,  as  we  have  seen,  to  efforts  which 
were  beyond  his  strength. 

Intimately  connected  with  this  whole-souled 
devotion  to  his  proper  spiritual  work  was  his 
watchful  care  of  the  flock  committed  to  him.  He 
was  a  bishop  in  the  true  primitive  sense  of  the 
word — an  overseer  of  the  souls  entrusted  to  his 
care.  He  made  it  his  business  to  be  acquainted 
12 


134 


MEMOIR  OF 


with  every  member  of  his  congregation,  and  his 
acquaintance  extended  to  the  temporal  as  well  as 
the  spiritual  condition  of  his  people,  for  he  rightly 
judged  that,  in  the  plan  of  man's  probation,  God 
has  so  connected  the  temporal  with  the  spiritual, 
that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  latter  implies  a 
knowledge  of  the  former  also.  He  was  not  the 
man  to  deliver  the  same  set  exhortation  to  persons 
of  all  classes  and  conditions,  as  if  religion  had 
nothing  to  do  with  man's  outward  circumstances  ; 
but,  being  fully  persuaded  that  it  is  through  these 
that  God  tries  and  disciplines  the  spirit,  he  sought 
through  the  outward  dealings  of  God's  providence 
to  approach  the  inner  man.  This  gave  to  the  ex- 
ternal history  of  each  member  of  his  congregation 
a  religious  importance,  in  his  view,  and  he  watched 
it  with  an  eagle-eyed  scrutiny,  ever  anxious  to 
learn  what  lessons  of  spiritual  profit  he  might  draw 
from  it.  The  qualification  which  a  living  preacher 
has  stated  as  necessary  for  the  pastor — "  the  pastor 
must  know  every  body  and  every  thing" — was 
possessed  by  Mr.  Judson  in  an  eminent  degree ; 
but  he  never  gained  or  used  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
be  accused  of  being  "  a  busy  body  in  other  men's 
matters."  Regard  for  the  spiritual  good  of  his 
people  regulated  his  mode  both  of  acquiring  and 
of  using  it.  Being  very  much  among  his  people, 
it  was  not  difficult  for  a  man  of  his  discernment  to 
learn,  in  an  indirect  way,  what  did  not  come  to 
light  in  the  course  of  confiding  pastoral  intercourse. 
Often,  as  the  writer  of  this  memoir  was  riding  by 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


135 


his  side  along  the  streets  of  Milan,  would  he,  by  a 
few  graphic  strokes,  give  the  history  and  character 
of  the  different  converts  whom  he  met.  He  dwelt 
on  the  various  ways  in  which  they  had  been 
brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  show  that  he  had  been  a  keen  observer  of 
their  history. 

He  watched  the  countenances  of  the  members 
of  his  congregation  on  the  Sabbath,  and  was  quick 
to  discern  the  beginning  of  religious  interest  in 
any  breast.  Cases  of  seriousness  could  not  escape 
his  notice.  Upon  going  home  from  preaching  he 
often  remarked,  "  I  must  call  upon  such  a  person : 
I  saw  a  tear  in  his  eye."  A  good  impression  made 
in  public  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  follow  up  in  private. 
Here  lay  the  secret  of  much  of  his  success.  His 
watchfulness  in  regard  to  his  Church  was  equally 
remarkable.  "  Suppose,"  says  one,  "  that  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  had  been  absent  on  the  Sabbath. 
He  would  come  into  my  store  on  Monday  morn- 
ing and  ask,  '  How  is  Mr.  's  family  ?  Have 

you  heard  that  any  one  there  is  sick?    I  noticed 

yesterday  that  was  absent.'    Where  one  had 

been  missing  he  would  generally  make  it  conve- 
nient to  call  soon  upon  the  family." 

The  following  incident  may  serve  to  illustrate 
his  habit  in  respect  to  absentees  from  his  congre- 
gation. One  of  his  parishioners,  well  known  for 
his  regular  attendance  upon  the  sanctuary,  was 
led,  on  a  certain  Sabbath,  by  particular  circum- 
stances, to  the  house  of  an  adjoining  parish  which 


136 


MEMOIR  OF 


was  nearer  to  him  than  his  own  Church.  One  of 
the  elders  playfully  remarked  to  him,  "  Well,  Mr. 

D  ,  I  am  glad  that  for  once  you  have  found 

your  true  place."  "  There  is  no  hope  for  you,"  he 
immediately  replied,  "  for  to-morrow  morning  Mr. 
Judson  will  ride  over  to  yoar  place,  and  call  across 

the  street  to  Dr.  B  ,  to  know  if  I  am  sick. 

Or  he  will  make  it  convenient  to  call  on  the  way 
at  my  house  to  inquire  about  my  health."  The 
latter  circumstance  took  place  the  next  morning, 
to  the  no  small  amusement  of  all  the  parties. 

"When  persons  who  were  not  in  the  habit  of  at- 
tending upon  religious  services  appeared  in  his 
Church,  he  took  great  pains  to  secure  their  confi- 
dence and  good  will.  This  he  effected  in  the  ear- 
lier part  of  his  ministry  by  interviews  brought 
about  in  an  indirect  manner.  Afterwards  he 
changed  his  plan  in  this  respect,  and  kindly  in- 
vited them  to  call  upon  him.  He  was  not  in  the 
habit,  however,  in  these  preliminary  interviews,  of 
introducing  the  subject  of  personal  religion,  unless 
he  discerned  some  tenderness.  On  this  point  he 
was  very  strenuous. 

On  Monday  forenoon,  when  he  felt  himself  una- 
ble to  occupy  his  time  in  his  study  with  profit,  he 
made  the  round  of  the  shops  and  warehouses, 
visiting  the  male  part  of  his  congregation  at  their 
places  of  business.  These  visits  were  generally 
short,  and  of  rather  a  social  character.  The  plea- 
sant impression  which  he  made,  as  he  passed  along 
from  place  to  place  with  his  frank  open  counte- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


137 


nance  and  friendly  salutations,  one  has  well  ex- 
pressed, by  saying  that  "he  left,  a  light  streak  be- 
hind him."  The  afternoons  of  all  the  days  of  the 
week  which  were  not  otherwise  occupied  he  devo- 
ted to  visiting  his  congregation.  In  his  ordinary 
rounds  of  parochial  visitation  he  did  not  adhere  to 
a  strict  plan  previously  laid  down,  but  was  di- 
rected by  circumstances  as  they  arose.  Upon  oc- 
casions of  special  interest  he  visited  in  particular 
neighborhoods  all  the  families  of  his  congregation 
in  connection  with  his  deacons.  The  sick  he 
made  it  a  point  to  visit  with  great  faithfulness  and 
assiduity,  always  requesting  the  physicians  to  in- 
form him  of  cases  of  sickness  as  they  occurred. 
Persons  sick  for  long  periods  of  time  he  visited 
regularly.  The  afflicted  he  visited  with  the  ut- 
most care  and  solicitude.  The  high  end  which  he 
proposed  to  himself  in  these  visitations  will  be 
considered  in  another  place. 

In  respect  to  the  amount  of  time  which  Mr. 
Judson  devoted  to  parochial  visitations,  he  is  not 
proposed  as  an  example  to  all  pastors.  Undoubt- 
edly many  would  find  themselves  unable  to  be  so 
much  of  their  time  out  of  their  studies  without 
abridging  their  highest  usefulness.  And  here  Mr. 
Judson  had  a  very  liberal  spirit.  He  knew  where 
his  own  strength  lay,  but  did  not  wish  to  propose 
his  particular  method  for  universal  adoption.  The 
following  extract  from  his  article  on  the  "  Range 
of  Topics  for  the  Pulpit,"  shows  that  he  did  not 
wish  to  have  any  preacher  neglect  thorough  pre- 
12* 


138 


MEMOIR  OF 


paration  for  the  pulpit  in  order  to  satisfy  the  call 
for  "  more  visiting." 

"  That  a  style  of  pulpit  discourses  thus  diversi- 
fied, will  not  augment  the  duties  of  the  ministry, 
and  call  for  much  of  that  study  which  is  a  weari- 
ness to  the  flesh,  is  not  claimed.  Nor  is  it  a  valid 
objection  to  such  an  appropriation  of  the  time  of 
the  pastor,  that  the  parish  is  clamorous  for  more 
pastoral  labor.  However  urgent  may  be  the  plea 
for  '  more  visiting,'  there  are  few  congregations  that 
would  not  regard  better  and  more  varied  preaching 
as  an  excellent  substitute  for  pastoral  visits.  The 
weeks  would  be  shortened  by  the  anxiety  for  the 
intellectual  feasts  of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  inter- 
vals between  each  successive  visit  would  be  less 
carefully  noted.  It  is  not  so  much  the  superior 
value  of  the  fireside  instructions,  as  the  wish  to 
cultivate  an  affectionate  interest  in  the  pastor,  that 
calls  for  an  increased  frecmency  in  his  visits. 
When  this  affectionate  interest  is  secured  by  the 
greater  excellence  and  happier  variety  of  his  pul- 
pit efforts,  the  same  end  is  gained,  and  in  a  way 
that  is  both  more  acceptable,  and  more  perma- 
nent."— Bib.  Repository  for  1847,/?.  729. 

In  a  charge  to  a  newly  ordained  pastor,  written 
several  years  before,  in  1840,  he  had  insisted  upon 
the  same  thing.  "  If  you  would  be  a  workman, 
and  a  workman  too  that  needeth  not  to  be  asham- 
ed, rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth,  you  must 
spend  much  time  in  your  study.  Here  should  be 
your  first  and  greatest  effort,  the  place  where  your 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


139 


energies  are  concentrated.  Your  congregation, 
unless  they  are  unlike  all  other  congregations,  will 
sap  much  to  you  about  visiting.  You  will  hear  a 
thousand  complaints  about  your  not  visiting 
enough,  where  you  will  hear  one  about  not  study- 
ing as  much  as  you  should.  But  remember  it  is  a 
somewhat  delicate  matter  for  your  parishioners  to 
urge  you  to  study.  Their  polite  regard  for  you 
will  prevent  it.  But  though  they  may  say  little, 
they  will  think  much.  And  they  will  have  a  way 
of  showing  what  they  think,  more  effectual  than 
kind  words  even,  by  leaving  these  seats  empty. 
You  cannot  chain  a  congregation  in  regular  and 
interested  attendance  upon  the  duties  of  the  house 
of  God  for  a  series  of  years,  without  introducing 
into  your  sermons  the  fruits  of  much  and  severe 
investigation." 

One  happy  result  of  Mr.  Judson's  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  his  parish  was  his  ability  to  dis- 
cern and  forestall  rising  evils.  He  saw  far  ahead, 
and  often  acted  with  reference  to  a  point  that 
other  people  did  not  see.  When  the  elements  of 
an  explosion  were  at  work  he  occupied  himself  in 
a  quiet  way  to  quench  them,  and  often  employed, 
on  such  occasions,  the  members  of  his  Church 
whom  he  knew  to  be  most  favorably  situated  for 
the  work,  suggeting  to  them  the  best  means  of  ac- 
complishing it.  So  also  he  forestalled  rising  er- 
rors, before  they  had  gained  a  firm  hold,  by 
preaching  the  truths  best  adapted  to  dissipate 
them. 


140 


MEMOIR  OF 


Another  of  Mr.  Judson's  qualifications  for  the 
pastoral  office  was  a  sound  judgment  united  with 
fertility  of  invention.  That  he  never  erred  in 
judgment  cannot,  be  affirmed,  for  he  was  an  impul- 
sive man,  and  subject,  moreover,  to  great  inequali- 
ties of  spirits.  From  both  these  causes,  as  well  as 
from  his  unnecessary  bluntness  and  sarcastic  se- 
verity, he  was  sometimes  led  into  unwise  mea- 
sures, and  said  and  did  things  which  had  an  un- 
happy influence.  But,  notwithstanding  these 
drawbacks,  he  possessed  a  judgment  of  a  very 
superior  character.  On  all  practical  matters  his 
views  were  remarkably  clear  and  comprehensive. 
His  fertility  of  invention,  in  devising  ways  and 
means  for  the  accomplishment  of  any  enterprise, 
was  best  understood  by  those  whose  acquaintance 
with  him  and  the  field  of  his  labors  was  most  in- 
timate. When  any  thing  needed  to  be  done  he 
had  a  way  for  doing  it ;  and  his  plans  were  in 
general  marked  by  simplicity  and  feasibility,  and, 
for  this  very  reason,  they  commended  themselves 
to  the  common  sense  of  his  people,  and  were 
readily  adopted  by  them. 

In  the  fourth  volume  of  the  New  Englander  is 
an  article  from  his  pen,  on  "  the  Evangelization  of 
the  West,"  in  which  he  considers  the  various  ob- 
stacles that  must  be  encountered  by  the  christian 
ministry  in  the  West,  and  how  they  are  to  be 
overcome.  The  article  is  throughout  fraught  with 
good  sense  and  practical  wisdom,  and  is  itself  a 
sufficient  proof  that  its  author  was  a  man  of  clear 
views  and  sound  judgment. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


141 


Nearly  related  to  the  above  qualification — rather 
a  branch  of  it — was  his  tact  in  approaching  men 
of  all  classes  and  conditions.  Some,  who  knew 
him  only  at  a  distance,  may  think  this  view  of  his 
character  incorrect.  Instances  are  certainly  known 
of  his  addressing  strangers,  upon  his  first  introduc- 
tion to  them,  in  a  very  abrupt  way,  by  no  means 
adapted  to  conciliate  their  good  will.  In  the  heat 
of  ecclesiastical  debate  also,  as  well  as  in  discus- 
sions with  his  best  friends,  he  sometimes  said  un- 
necessarily severe  things.  It  need  not  be  denied 
that  this  trait  was  a  detriment  to  his  influence  as  a 
pastor. 

Yet  it  may  be  confidently  affirmed,  that  few 
men  ever  understood  more  perfectly  the  deep 
springs  of  human  action,  or  were  able  to  operate 
upon  them  more  skilfully  or  more  successfully. 
And,  in  his  pastoral  intercourse  with  his  people, 
having  a  deep  and  abiding  sense  of  his  responsi- 
bility for  the  souls  committed  to  his  care,  he  laid 
himself  out,  more  perhaps  than  in  any  other  situa- 
tion, to  win  men's  confidence,  that  he  might  thus 
guide  them  to  Christ.  It  is  certain  that  in  the 
later  years  of  his  ministry  there  was  a  peculiar 
mellowness  and  tenderness  in  his  manner  of  ap- 
proaching men  on  the  subject  of  their  spiritual 
welfare,  which,  did  not  appear  in  the  free  inter- 
course of  society,  and  which,  combined  as  it  was 
with  a  nice  discernment  of  the  most  accessible 
points,  opened  to  him  the  door  of  many  a  heart 
which,  if  approached  in  an  unskilful  way,  would 


142 


MEMOIR  OF 


have  remained  fast  barred  against  him.  He  had 
no  set  formula  for  approaching  men,  but  varied 
his  manner  of  address  according  to  circumstances, 
always  making  it  his  first  effort  to  gain  their  confi- 
dence and  good  will.  When  any  had  become 
somewhat  interested  in  the  subject  of  personal  re- 
ligion, he  anxiously  watched  their  progress,  and 
made  from  time  to  time  suggestions  appropriate 
to  the  stage  of  inquiry  which  they  had  reached. 
This  was  highly  characteristic  of  his  method  in 
the  latter  period  of  his  ministry.  He  did  not  be- 
lieve in  attempting  to  force  a  mind  at  once  through 
an  entire  process  of  inquiry  and  reasoning;  but 
rather,  in  imitation  of  the  skilful  husbandman, 
sought  to  aid  and  cherish  it  in  the  development  of 
its  own  inward  powers.  When,  through  the  di- 
vine blessing  upon  his  labors,  any  one  had  been 
brought  to  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the  truth, 
he  could  give  the  history  of  the  several  stages  of 
his  progress,  and  tell  what  suggestions  he  had 
made  at  each  successive  step,  and  why  he  had 
made  them. 

If  any  were  indifferent  to  the  subject  of  religion, 
he  approached  them  through  their  temporal  inter- 
ests. Suppose,  for  example,  that  there  was  a 
family  within  the  bounds  of  his  parish  that  did 
not  attend  religious  worship  on  the  Sabbath.  If 
he  had  noticed  that  the  lady  of  the  house  had 
shrubbery  or  flowers  about  her  door — a  thing  for 
which  he  had  himself  an  exquisite  relish — he  made 
her  taste  here  a  point  of  contact.    When  he  had 


EVERTON  JUDSON, 


143 


thus  gained  her  interest  and  good  will  he  pro- 
ceeded to  seek  her  spiritual  good.  In  the  same 
way  he  drew  into  his  congregation  men  of  a  skep- 
tical turn  of  mind,  always  making  some  worldly 
interest  a  door  of  entrance  to  their  acquaintance 
and  confidence.  "  He  conversed,"  says  a  lady  of 
his  congregation,  whose  husband  was  brought  to 
Christ  through  the  divine  blessing  upon  his  labors, 
"  on  whatever  matter  my  husband  was  engaged  in. 
He  could  interest  himself  in  every  thing  that  con- 
cerned his  affairs — even  in  a  hill  of  potatoes." 

The  interest  with  which  he  followed  the  uncon- 
verted members  of  his  congregation,  when  he  had 
thus  gained  access  to  their  hearts,  strikingly  ap- 
pears in  the  following  remarks,  made  to  an  inti- 
mate friend,  soon  after  the  death  of  one  for  whom 
he  had  a  very  high  personal  esteem.  "  There  has 
no  death  occurred  in  my  congregation  for  years 
which  has  been  to  me  the  occasion  of  so  much 
anxiety  and  uneasiness.  I  have  followed  that  man 
since  I  came  here,  and  have  thought  that  I  ob- 
served a  gradual  softening  of  his  feelings.  Few 
in  my  Church  know  of  what  help  he  has  been  to 
me.  With  his  influence  I  was  able  to  carry  out 
many  measures,  and  that  influence  was  always 
cheerfully  given.  I  would  have  given  the  world 
to  know  that  man's  exercises  in  the  last  moments 
of  his  life.  It  was  hard  for  me  to  become  recon- 
ciled to  the  idea  of  his  dying  without  giving  evi- 
dence of  a  change  of  mind." 

Mr.  Judson's  habit  of  approaching  irreligious 


144 


MEMOIR  OP 


men  through  their  worldly  occupations  and  inter- 
ests was  probably  the  ground  why  some  said  that 
he  was  a  man  of  much  policy.  His  principle  he 
may  sometimes  have  carried  to  excess,  but  it  was 
nevertheless  a  sound  principle.  What  shall  forbid 
the  Christian,  who  has  occasion  to  ride  by  the  side 
of  a  profane  stage-driver,  instead  of  immediately 
uttering  an  abrupt  reproof,  first  to  prepare  the  way 
for  it  by  manifesting  an  interest  every  way  lawful 
and  proper  in  his  business  and  his  horses?  If 
this  is  policy,  it  is  certainly  not  "  carnal  policy." 
Nevertheless  the  cases  are  few,  and  only  consti- 
tute the  exceptions,  in  which  a  minister  may  not, 
in  private  intercourse,  especially  among  the  people 
of  his  own  charge,  introduce  the  subject  of  per- 
sonal religion  in  a  direct  way.  He  is  appointed 
by  his  Master  to  be  men's  spiritual  guide,  and 
even  the  wicked  expect  him,  in  his  intercourse 
with  them,  to  act  in  his  proper  character;  and 
will,  as  an  ordinary  rule,  be  prepared  to  receive 
from  him  appeals  to  their  consciences,  when  made 
with  tenderness,  and  with  a  due  regard  to  out- 
ward circumstances.  In  this  matter  "wisdom  is 
profitable  to  direct ;  and  "  there  are  diversities  of 
gifts." 

In  one  respect  Mr.  Judson  himself  became  satis- 
fied that,  in  seeking  personal  interviews  with  men 
on  the  subject  of  religion,  he  had  pursued  too  in- 
direct a  method.  In  the  earlier  part  of  his  ministry 
he  sought  to  bring  these  about  in  an  incidental 
way.    Afterwards  he  changed  his  plan,  and  kindly 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


145 


invited  such  as  he  believed  to  be  somewhat 
thoughtful  to  call  upon  him.  The  occasion  of  this 
change  he  thus  stated  to  the  author  :  "  Calling  one 
day  at  the  study  of  a  pastor,  he  informed  me  that 
he  was  expecting  a  young  man  to  call  in  the 
course  of  a  few  minutes  for  religious  conversation. 
I  asked  him  what  method  he  pursued  in  seeking 
such  personal  interviews.  He  replied  that,  when 
he  judged  a  member  of  his  congregation  to  be  in 
a  proper  state  of  mind  for  the  measure,  he  called 
upon  him,  invited  him  to  his  study,  and  frankly 
stated  his  object.  Upon  this  some  free  conversa- 
tion on  the  subject  occurred  between  us.  I  went 
home  resolved  to  pursue  a  more  direct  course  in 
obtaining  interviews  with  the  thoughtful,  and  I 
have  found  it  a  more  successful  way."  He  did 
not,  however,  enter  into  a  personal  conversation 
respecting  their  religious  condition  in  the  prelimi- 
nary interview,  unless  he  discerned  some  tender- 
ness of  feeling,  but  left  this  for  subsequent  oppor- 
tunities. 

His  assiduity  in  visiting  the  sick  and  the  afflic- 
ted has  already  been  noticed.  In  these  visits  the 
administration  of  comfort,  though  a  real,  was  with 
him  a  subordinate  object.  Firmly  believing  that 
the  afflictive  dispensations  of  God's  providence 
are  adapted  and  designed  to  recal  men  from  the 
service  of  mammon  to  that  of  Christ,  he  sought 
with  solicitous  care  to  improve  them  to  this  high 
end,  regarded  them  as  golden  opportunities  for  his 
13 


146 


MEMOIR  OF 


work,  and  expected  to  see  saving  divine  influences 
follow  his  faithful  labors.  When  a  brother  minis- 
ter once  said  to  him  that  he  did  not  expect  any 
permanent  religious  results  from  affliction,  he  re- 
plied, "  It  is  not  so  with  me.  When  any  of  my 
congregation  are  in  affliction,  I  feel  that  I  have  a 
special  call  to  labor  with  them.  My  object  is  not 
simply  to  comfort  them,  but  to  lead  them  to 
Christ,  and  I  expect  to  see  them  converted."  He 
had  great  skill  in  approaching  persons  at  such 
times,  and  often  said  that  he  had,  in  his  own 
opinion,  been  the  means  of  converting  more  souls 
in  this  way  than  in  any  other.  Many  members  of 
his  Church  ascribed  their  conversion  to  his  labors 
with  them  in  seasons  of  affliction.  He  came  to 
them  with  deep  sympathy  and  tenderness,  and 
was  always  able,  by  virtue  of  his  power  of  dis- 
cerning character,  to  present  to  them  the  most  ap- 
propriate truth  in  the  most  appropriate  way.  And, 
when  he  had  once  gained  access  in  this  way  to  the 
bosom  of  an  unconverted  person,  he  was  not  satis- 
fied with  one  or  two  efforts,  but  made  it  a  point  of 
duty  to  follow  up  the  first  good  impression,  till  it 
should  result,  by  the  help  of  divine  grace,  in  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Christ.  He  had  a  rare  facul- 
ty of  drawing  out  men's  feelings.  It  was  a  com- 
mon remark  in  Milan,  that  he  would  make  one  tell 
all  his  heart. 

In  the  article  in  the  Biblical  Repository,  al- 
ready so  often  referred  to,  Mr.  Judson  has  given 
his  views  of  the  reason  why  afflictions  so  seldom 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


147 


result  in  the  conversion  of  those  who  experience 
them. 

"  It  was  but  the  other  day  we  read  in  a  popular 
quarterly,  conducted  with  great  ability,  the  fol- 
lowing sentiment,  quoted  as  an  approved  apo- 
thegm :  '  People  are  never  so  wicked  as  during  a 
general  mortality,  or  the  ravages  of  the  plague : 
and  sailors  get  drunk  as  the  vessel  sinks.'  For 
aught  we  know,  the  remark,  as  far  as  relates  to  the 
effects  of  the  Gospel,  may  convey  a  historic  truth 
of  common  occurrence.  We  have  heard  it  from 
our  boyhood,  and  till  we  were  so  far  persuaded  of 
its  truth  as  to  cast  about  for  the  philosophy  of  the 
fact,  that  sinners  never  repent  and  turn  to  God  in 
seasons  of  deep  affliction.  The  facts  may  be  so, 
but  we  believe,  if  they  are,  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation is  fearfully  responsible  for  their  existence. 
When  does  a  sermon  result  in  the  conviction  or 
conversion  of  a  sinner,  unless  the  author  of  the 
discourse  prepared  and  preached  it  in  earnest  ex- 
pectation of  such  results  ?  Let  it  become  a  part 
of  the  philosophy  of  any  pastor,  that  sickness  and 
death,  and  the  various  calamities  with  which  God 
visits  men,  are  never  to  result  in  their  immediate 
conversion,  and  there  is  the  best  of  all  reasons  for 
the  failure. 

We  might  name  the  pastor  of  a  Church,  who 
has,  for  a  long  season  of  years,  made  special  ef- 
forts to  adapt  the  truth  to  the  circumstances,  and 
to  press  it  upon  the  consciences  of  the  families  of 
his  parish,  whenever  they  have  been  visited  with 


148 


MEMOIR  OF 


severe  affliction,  and  almost  ever  with  the  happiest 
success.  It  is  believed  that  he  has  realized  more 
accessions  to  his  Church,  in  connection  with  such 
instrumentalities,  than  from  all  other  means." — 
Bib.  Repository  for  1847,  pp.  723-4. 

In  the  pastor  alluded  to  in  the  last  part  of  this 
extract  the  reader  will  not  fail  to  discern  Mr.  Jud- 
son  himself.  His  view  of  the  use  to  be  made  by 
the  pastor  of  the  afflictive  dispensations  which 
befall  the  members  of  his  congregation,  and  of  the 
permanent  resiilts  to  be  expected  from  such  a  use, 
is  so  obviously  correct  and  scriptural,  that  we  can- 
not but  wonder  that  any  should  have  maintained 
a  different  view.  In  innumerable  passages  the 
Scriptures  assert,  and  all  evangelical  pastors  ad- 
mit, that  afflictions  are,  in  general,  both  designed 
and  adapted  to  bring  men  to  repentance.  Why 
then  should  any  pastor  fail  to  discern  a  golden  op- 
portunity for  the  accomplishment  of  his  appro- 
priate work  when  God  has  led  the  way  before  him, 
and  is,  as  it  were,  beckoning  him  onward  to  co- 
operate with  himself?  It  is  not  God's  plan  that 
afflictions  alone  should  have  a  saving  efficacy. 
Among  the  mass  of  unevangelized  men  they  have  no 
such  efficacy.  But  by  them  he  interrupts  the  sinner 
in  his  career  of  worldliness,  embitters  to  him  earthly 
delights,  softens  his  feelings,  and  prepares  the  way 
for  the  reception  of  the  word  of  life.  Afflictions  are, 
so  to  speak,  the  plough  that  breaks  up  the  fallow 
ground.  But  if  the  pastor — the  Lord's  husbandman, 
does  not  follow  and  sow  the  seed  of  truth,  no  harvest 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


149 


of  repentance  will  follow.  Nor  ought  it  to  be  ex- 
pected, as  a  general  result,  that  an  afflictive  dis- 
pensation, even  when  accompanied  with  faithful 
pastoral  labor,  will,  by  a  single  stroke,  accomplish 
the  whole  work.  Very  often  it  will  be  found  to 
be  only  the  first  in  a  series  of  influences  which, 
after  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  result,  through  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  soul's  salvation. 
This  was  Mr.  Judson's  idea.  His  plan  was  to 
follow  tip  afflictions  by  a  system  of  efforts  varied  to 
suit  each  individual  case.  In  this  he  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  singularly  successful ;  and  his  example 
may  well  be  proposed  for  the  imitation  of  all 
pastors. 

We  have  seen  that  Mr.  Judson's  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  his  congregation  enabled  him  to 
discern  error  in  its  incipient  stages,  and  that  his 
habit  was  to  forestall  such  error  by  preaching  the 
truth  best  adapted  to  meet  it.  It  may  be  added 
that  his  manner  of  encountering  error  was  rather 
indirect.  It  was  not  his  way  to  give  formal  no- 
tice that  he  would  preach  on  such  a  day  against 
such  a  false  doctrine  or  erroneous  practice.  Per- 
haps he  believed  that  this  would  be  a  sort  of  invi- 
tation to  its  friends  to  come  fully  armed  for  its 
defense.  He  preferred  to  give  to  his  people  the 
antidote  of  an  error  in  the  shape  of  an  inference 
from  premises  to  which  he  had  already  gained 
their  assent.  It  is  well  known,  for  example,  that 
he  was  remarkably  successful  in  excluding  from 
13* 


150 


MEMOIR  OF 


his  parish  certain  erroneous  doctrines  on  the  sub- 
ject of  christian  perfection  which  were,  during  a 
part  of  his  ministry,  inculcated  with  great  zeal  in 
the  whole  of  this  region.  Yet  he  was  never  known 
to  preach  a  sermon  directly  against  those  doctrines. 
He  chose  rather  to  exhibit  what  he  believed  to  be 
the  true  scriptural  doctrine  of  holiness,  and  then 
to  show  inferentially  that  such  and  such  ideas  of 
perfection  are  opposed  to  it. 

He  kept  himself  fully  acquainted  with  the  char- 
acter of  the  periodicals  taken  in  his  congregation, 
and,  from  time  to  time,  as  favorable  opportunities 
presented  themselves,  he  made  brief  suggestions 
on  the  subject.  The  influence  which  he  exerted 
in  this  quiet  way  in  behalf  of  sound  and  whole- 
some publications  was  very  great  and  salutary. 
He  was  also  in  the  habit  of  loaning  books  to  the 
members  of  his  congregation,  particularly  the 
young,  and  it  was  his  custom,  when  any  volume 
was  returned,  to  ask  the  reader  his  opinion  respect- 
ing its  contents. 

Mr.  Judson  had  a  high  sense  of  his  pastoral  re- 
sponsibilities, and  his  rights  in  his  own  parish, 
and  with  intruders  he  was  capable  of  being  severe. 
Such  were  quite  apt  to  fall  in  with  him  in  their 
rounds,  and  to  be  handled  in  such  a  way  that  they 
had  no  desire  to  renew  the  encounter.  The  same 
rights  which  he  claimed  for  himself  among  his 
own  people,  he  most  cordially  conceded  to  the 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


151 


pastors  of  other  congregations,  both  of  his  own 
and  of  other  denominations.  In  laboring  in  the 
parishes  of  his  brethren,  or  with  other  ministers  on 
common  ground,  he  had  a  delicate  sense  of  pro- 
priety, which  kept  him  from  every  thing  like  offi- 
cious intermeddling.  Toward  that  class  of  in- 
truders who,  under  color  of  zeal  for  some  good 
cause,  come  in  privily  to  alienate  the  affections  of 
the  people  from  their  pastor,  and  draw  off  a  party 
to  their  own  side,  he  entertained  a  just  abhorrence, 
and  showed  himself  a  formidable  opponent,  fol- 
lowing herein  the  inspired  direction  ;  "  Now  I  be- 
seech you,  brethren,  mark  them  which  cause  divi- 
sions and  offenses,  contrary  to  the  doctrine  which 
ye  have  learned  ;  and  avoid  them.  For  they  that 
are  such  serve  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  their 
own  belly ;  and  by  good  words  and  fair  speeches 
deceive  the  hearts  of  the  simple." 

Mr.  Judson's  energy  and  decision  of  character, 
united  with  a  sound  judgment  and  talents  for  busi- 
ness of  a  high  order,  secured  for  him  a  permanent 
and  paramount  influence  in  his  parish.  His  opin- 
ions, of  which  he  was  very  tenacious,  were  gene- 
rally adopted,  and  most  matters  of  importance 
were  left  to  his  management,  perhaps  too  much  so 
for  the  highest  good  of  his  people.  Yet  he  was 
fully  aware  that  he  held  his  great  power  over  his 
parish  only  on  the  tenure  of  a  prudent  and  rea- 
sonable use  of  it.  He  was  not  in  the  habit,  at 
least  not  in  the  latter  period  of  his  ministry,  of 


152 


MEMOIR  OP 


coming  directly  across  the  feelings  and  opinions 
of  his  people.  When  subjects  were  proposed  in 
the  meetings  of  the  Church  from  which  he  appre- 
hended excitement  and  alienation  of  feeling,  his 
effort  was  to  have  the  consideration  of  them  defer- 
red till  there  should  be  time  for  reflection  and  mu- 
tual conference.  If  he  had  proposed  a  measure  of 
which  he  was  warmly  in  favor,  but  which  he  per- 
ceived was  likely,  if  pressed,  to  produce  division 
and  opposition,  it  was  his  custom  to  withdraw  it. 

Before  making  important  movements  he  was 
always  careful  to  ascertain  the  minds  of  the  prin- 
cipal men  in  his  Church.  He  often  said  that, 
should  he  find  the  feelings  of  three  prominent  men 
in  his  Church  alienated  from  him,  he  should  leave 
his  post.  Conversing  one  day  respecting  the 
troubles  that  had  arisen  in  another  parish,  he  cen- 
sured the  pastor  in  severe  terms  for  his  indecision, 
and  added,  "If  I  were  in  his  place  I  would  know 
whether  I  was  pastor  or  not."  To  this  a  lady  pre- 
sent replied,  "  Mr.  has  not  so  many  stiff  backs 

to  support  him  as  you  have."  In  private  conver- 
sation afterwards  with  the  author  he  said  :  "  Mrs. 

 spoke  of  the  '  stiff  backs  '  in  my  congregation. 

But  you  know,  brother  B  ,  that  these  stiff  backs 

require  very  careful  management.  To  get  along 
well  with  them,  is  a  work  of  no  little  judgment 
and  skill.  I  have  found,  sometimes,  when  I  set 
on  foot  a  plan  which  they  have  not  examined,  and 
do  not  carefully  explain  it  to  them  and  ask  their 
opinion,  they  will  stand  perfectly  still  and  be  as 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


153 


judicious  ."    To  a  brother  minister  he  once 

said  :  "  I  let  my  people  do  as  they  wish  ;"  meaning 
that  he  was  careful  not  to  cross  their  wishes  un- 
necessarily. But  he  was,  at  the  same  time,  equally 
careful  to  put  in  a  word  here  and  a  suggestion 
there,  which  should  lead  them  to  do  as  he  wished, 
and  this  result  he  generally  secured. 

Yet  his  feelings  sometimes  impelled  him  to  hasty 
and  unwise  measures,  and  led  him  to  say  and  do 
unhappy  things.  As  has  been  already  remarked, 
he  was  subject  to  seasons  of  great  depression.  At 
such  times  he  saw  every  thing  subjectively,  (to  use 
one  of  the  terms  which  he  so  much  disliked,)  that 
is,  through  the  medium  of  his  own  feelings,  and 
as  these  were  in  a  morbid  condition,  his  views 
were,  in  like  manner,  unhealthy.  On  two  or  three 
of  these  occasions  he  sent  in  to  the  deacons  of  the 
Church  his  request  that  they  and  his  people  would 
unite  with  him  in  seeking  a  dissolution  of  the 
pastoral  relation  existing  between  himself  and 
them.  One  of  these  was  in  1838,  soon  after  the 
completion  of  the  new  house  of  worship.  At  this 
time  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  he  was  suffer- 
ing under  an  unjust  external  pressure,  being  re- 
sponsible for  a  debt  at  one  of  the  banks  contracted 
in  the  progress  of  erecting  the  Church,  which  he 
thought  his  people  remiss  in  paying.  At  this  time 
he  was,  perhaps,  willing  that  matters  should  be 
brought  to  a  crisis.  Another  occasion  was  in  1845, 
when  he  addressed  to  the  deacons  of  the  Church 
a  communication  containing  a  very  dark  and  dis- 


154 


MEMOIR  OF 


couraging  view  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  his 
people,  with  complaints  of  their  apathy  and  indif- 
ference in  many  particulars  which  he  enumerated, 
and  ending  with  a  statement  that  "  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  this  people  demands  that  they  should 
take  an  early  opportunity  to  secure  a  dissolution 
of  the  pastoral  relation,  with  the  hope  of  securing 
some  one  to  break  to  them  the  bread  of  life  in 
whom  they  shall  repose  a  more  hearty  confidence, 
and  with  whom  they  shall  be  more  ready  to  co- 
operate, and  whose  wearied  hands  shall  be  stayed 
up  by  the  Aarons  and  Hurs  of  the  Church  ;" — 
and  with  a  further  request  that  they  "  will  take  an 
early  opportunity  to  consummate  an  event  which 
will  only  be  rendered  more  painful  to  me  by 
delay." 

That  the  evils  of  which  he  complained  were, 
to  a  great  extent,  real,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
But  that  the  remedy  proposed  was  the  right  one, 
he  himself,  when  looking  at  the  matter  through 
the  medium  of  his  usual  good  judgment,  instead 
of  his  depressed  feelings,  would  hardly  have  af- 
firmed. This  communication  the  deacons  man- 
aged to  keep  from  coming  before  the  people,  be- 
ing, in  this  matter  also,   "  as  judicious   ." 

Nevertheless  it  had,  through  them,  the  effect  of 
stirring  up  the  Church  to  duty. 

The  same  sensitiveness  and  unevenness  of  feel- 
ing sometimes  led  him,  in  the  Thursday  evening 
meeting,  to  talk  to  his  people  with  great  severity, 
and  in  a  strain  which  would  not  have  been  borne 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


155 


from  any  other  man.  In  his  ministrations  on  the 
Sabbath  also  this  sharpness  frequently  appeared 
in  the  earlier  part  of  his  ministry.  Too  much  heat 
or  cold,  a  little  smoke,  or  a  thin  attendance  greatly 
discomposed  him.  But  towards  the  close  of  his 
ministry  he  had  nearly  overcome  this  infirmity. 
An  incident  that  occurred  in  connection  with  the 
Thursday  evening  meeting,  in  one  of  the  later 
years  of  his  ministry,  was  the  occasion  of  adminis- 
tering to  him  a  salutary  lesson  of  instruction. 

There  had  been  in  Milan  many  strolling  lec- 
turers. One  of  these  had  obtained  permission  to 
deliver  several  lectures  on  mesmerism  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  Church.  It  so  happened,  through  the 
inadvertence  of  those  who  had  charge  of  the  mat- 
ter, that  one  of  these  fell  on  Thursday  evening, 
thus  interfering  with  Mr.  Judson 's  weekly  religious 
meeting.  He  was  greatly  excited,  and  the  next 
Sabbath  omitted  to  make  the  usual  public  ap- 
pointment of  the  Thursday  evening  lecture.  One 
of  his  people,  supposing  that  the  omission  might 
have  been  through  forgetfulness,  ordered  the  bell 
to  be  rung,  and  the  meeting  was  held  as  usual, 
but  without  the  presence  of  the  pastor.  The 
question  was  raised  by  those  present,  "  Shall  the 
meeting  be  sustained  ?",  and  decided  in  the  affir- 
mative. The  next  Sabbath  he  again  omitted  the 
appointment,  and  again  the  bell  was  rung  and  the 
meeting  held.  On  the  following  week,  at  the 
stated  church-meeting,  he  brought  the  matter  be- 
fore the  Church,  and  asked  the  opinion  of  the 


156 


MEMOIR  OF 


brethren  on  the  expediency  of  maintaining  the  ex- 
ercise. All  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  Mr. 
Judson  frankly  acknowledged  that  he  had  been  in 
the  wrong.  From  that  time  onward  the  meeting 
was  maintained  with  new  life.  In  reference  to 
this  event,  he  often  said  that  he  had,  like  Wash- 
ington, gained  a  victory  by  retreating. 


Section  III. 

Mr.  Judson  in  Ecclesiastical  Meetings. 

Mr.  Judson  was  eminently  a  man  of  public 
spirit.  His  views  were  not  circumscribed  by  the 
bounds  of  his  own  parish,  but  he  felt  a  deep  in- 
terest in  the  prosperity  of  all  the  neighboring 
parishes  and  of  the  entire  region,  and  was  ever 
ready  to  do  what  lay  in  his  power  to  advance  the 
general  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom.  This  trait 
in  his  character  began  to  show  itself  upon  his  first 
entrance  into  his  field  of  labor;  and  it  lay  at  the 
foundation  of  the  interest  which  he  ever  manifested 
in  the  meetings  of  his  own  Presbytery  and  of  the 
Synod  of  the  Western  Reserve.  These  meetings 
he  attended  with  great  punctuality,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  their  deliberations.  No  one  man, 
probably,  had  more  weight  of  influence  than  he  on 
the  floor  of  the  Synod.  His  strength  lay  partly  in 
his  native  energy  and  decision  of  character,  and 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


157 


partly  in  the  clearness  with  which  he  apprehended 
all  the  points  at  issue,  and  the  readiness  with 
which  he  could  present  arguments  to  establish  his 
own  views.  The  following  paragraph  from  the 
pen  of  one  who  was  long  associated  with  him  in 
the  same  Presbytery,  well  sets  forth  the  elements 
of  his  power  in  deliberative  assemblies. 

"  If  there  was  one  mental  trait  by  which  he  was 
particularly  distinguished  above  most  men,  it  was 
the  power  of  seeing  almost  at  a  glance  the  rela- 
tions and  bearings  of  any  question  that  was  under 
discussion,  or  of  any  measure  that  was  proposed 
for  adoption.  The  rapidity  of  his  judgment  was 
like  intuition.  Almost  equally  rapid  was  his 
power  of  combination.  He  was  almost  never  in 
doubt  how  to  act  in  an  emergency ;  but  would 
form  a  plan  and  suggest  a  method  of  procedure 
on  the  spur  of  the  occasion,  which  would  generally 
prove  to  be  as  well  adapted  to  accomplish  the 
object,  as  if  it  had  been  the  fruit  of  long  con- 
tinued study.  It  was  these  mental  characteris- 
tics, combined  with  a  ready  command  of  forcible 
language,  which  gave  him  so  much  influence  in 
deliberative  assemblies.  It  was  found  that  his 
views  were  generally  correct:  that  his  plans  were 
suited  to  the  exigencies  of  the  case.  These,  com- 
bined with  an  open  and  frank  disposition  that 
knew  no  concealment,  inspired  great  confidence  in 
his  opinions  and  suggestions." — Obituary  Notice 
by  Rev.  A.  Newton,  Ohio  Observer,  Aug-.  30,  1848. 

He  carefully  avoided  wasting  his  strength  and 
14 


158 


MEMOIR  OF 


impairing'  his  influence  by  the  advocacy  of  mea- 
sures in  which  he  had  no  hope  of  uniting  the 
members  of  his  Presbytery.  When  he  wished  to 
carry  any  point,  his  way  was  to  consult  privately 
those  "  who  seemed  to  be  pillars."  If  he  found 
several  opposed  to  his  plan  he  was  not  in  the 
habit  of  urging  it.  He  preferred  to  drop  it,  or  to 
wait  for  a  more  "favorable  occasion  of  presenting 
it.  Herein,  as  in  all  his  other  relations,  he  had  a 
steady  eye  to  the  peace  and  harmony  of  God's 
Church. 

As  it  was  his  lot  to  live  in  times  of  excitement 
and  division  on  questions  not  only  of  theological 
belief,  but  also  of  church  polity  and  of  reform,  it 
necessarily  happened  that  he  sometimes  found 
himself  opposed  on  the  floor  of  an  ecclesiastical 
body  to  men  whose  views  were  widely  at  variance 
with  his  own.  Such  found  in  him  both  a  very 
formidable  and  a  very  uncomfortable  adversary. 
He  was  ready  to  meet  them  on  every  side,  and 
the  weight  of  his  arguments  and  influence  they 
had  just  reason  to  fear.  They  knew,  moreover, 
that,  when  he  chose,  he  could  assail  an  opponent 
with  such  a  storm  of  sarcasm  as  few  would  care 
to  encounter.  It  cannot  be  denied  that,  on  such 
occasions,  he  was  apt  to  be  impetuous  and  head- 
strong. Nevertheless  his  impetuosity  was,  in  al- 
most every  instance,  guided  by  a  sound  judgment 
and  correct  view  of  the  matter  in  debate,  and  his 
warmest  onsets  had  in  view  the  harmony  and  wel- 
fare of  Christ's  body. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


159 


It  sometimes  happened  that  he  had  reason  to 
believe  that  an  opponent  concealed  his  real  grounds 
for  advocating  a  given  measure.  In  such  cases  he 
avoided  placing  himself  in  a  false  position  by  im- 
puting to  his  adversary  a  motive  which  could  be 
easily  denied ;  but  chose  rather  to  keep  him  in  his 
own  false  position,  by  meeting  him  on  his  avowed 
ground,  and  setting  forth  in  various  ways  its  in- 
adequacy. This  game  he  sometimes  carried  on 
with  great  good  nature  and  humor,  evidently  en- 
joying not  a  little  the  embarrassment  which  it  oc- 
casioned. 

In  the  present  connection  Mr.  Judson's  relation 
to  the  monthly  "  Ministers'  Meeting,"  held  within 
the  bounds  of  his  Presbytery,  may  properly  be  no- 
ticed. Of  this  he  was  a  constant  attendant,  and 
some  of  the  best  articles  produced  in  it  were  from 
his  ™en.  In  those  exercises  of  the  meeting  in 
which  he  took  an  interest — such  as  dissertations, 
reviews,  plans  of  sermons,  and  the  like — he  was 
peculiarly  happy.  For  exegesis  and  the  reading 
of  the  Scriptures  in  the  original  languages,  he  had, 
for  the  reason  already  stated,  little  relish.  In  his 
criticisms  upon  the  performances  he  always  ex- 
celled. He  had  a  rare  talent  of  seizing  at  once 
upon  the  subject  under  discussion,  and  making 
happy  off-hand  remarks  upon  it.  Ordinarily  these 
remarks  were  in  a  kind  tone,  though  sometimes 
his  native  tendency  to  bluntness  and  severity  pre- 
vailed, and  made   his  criticisms  uncomfortable. 


160 


MEMOIR  OF 


His  influence  in  the  Ministers'  Meeting  was  great, 
but  it  may  be  doubted  whether  its  reaction  upon 
his  own  character  was  not  even  greater.  A  well 
conducted  ministers'  meeting  furnishes  a  genial 
and  kindly  influence,  which  is  admitted  by  the 
several  members  so  much  the  more  readily  be- 
cause it  is  silent  and  indirect.  Mr.  Judson  was 
not  a  man  to  be  compelled  to  receive  influences, 
when  they  presented  themselves  before  him  with 
a  magisterial  air  and  demanded  his  submission. 
But  his  good  sense  and  clear-sighted  judgment 
made  him  peculiarly  ready  to  take  a  good  hint 
that  came  in  an  unassuming  form.  The  Minis- 
ters' Meeting  had  a  marked  effect  upon  him  in  re- 
spect to  his  style  of  preaching.  It  was,  indeed, 
one  of  the  chief  among  the  causes  which  operated 
to  recall  him  from  the  loose  method  of  preparing 
sermons,  into  which  he  had,  at  one  time,  falle^. 

In  his  views  of  church  polity  Mr.  Judson  was 
decidedly  a  Congregationalist.  The  existing  ec- 
clesiastical organization  on  the  Western  Reserve 
he  regarded  as  expedient — the  best  under  present 
circumstances.  In  the  last  year  of  his  ministry  he 
commenced  a  series  of  articles  in  the  Ohio  Ob- 
server, which  he  never  completed,  designed  to  set 
forth  and  maintain  the  rights  of  Congregational 
churches  under  this  organization.  For  such  a  se- 
ries of  articles  he  thought  there  was  need.  To 
enter  into  a  discussion  of  this  point  would  be 
foreign  to  the  design  of  the  present  memoir.  It 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


161 


is  sufficient  simply  to  say  that  his  object  was  not 
to  disturb  the  existing  relations  of  Congregational 
and  Presbyterian  ministers  and  churches  to  each 
other,  (a  thing  which,  in  so  many  words,  he  ex- 
pressly disavowed,)  but  to  show  what  are  the 
rights  of  Congregational  churches  under  these  re- 
lations. 


Section  IV. 

His  Efforts  for  the  Young. 

No  part  of  Mr.  Judson's  character  is  more  de- 
serving of  commendation  and  imitation  than  his 
anxious  and  well  directed  efforts  to  secure  the  con- 
fidence and  affection  of  the  young.  Like  his 
father  before  him,  he  had  a  word  for  every  child 
he  met — a  pleasant  and  pertinent  word.  One  he 
asked  concerning  his  studies ;  another  concerning 
something  that  had  happened  upon  his  father's 
farm,  or  in  his  father's  business;  another  concern- 
ing the  health  of  some  member  of  his  family  ;  by 
another  he  sent  some  message ;  of  another  he  in- 
quired in  respect  to  some  report  that  he  had  heard 
of  him,  with  the  addition  of  one  or  two  short  re- 
marks. These  kind  notices  of  the  children  of  his 
parish,  accompanied  with  his  pleasant  tone  and 
open  good-natured  countenance,  thrilled  through 
their  bosoms  and  quickened  the  blood  in  their 
14* 


162 


MEMOIR  OF 


veins.  They  did  not  shrink  into  some  corner  upon 
his  approach,  but  met  him  with  sparkling  eyes 
and  smiling  faces.  He  had  a  peculiar  talent  for 
saying  things  in  such  a  way  that  children  would 
be  sure  to  remember  them.  Almost  every  child 
in  Milan  can  recollect  some  striking  remark  of 
his. 

His  laborious  preparation  for  the  exercises  of 
the  weekly  Bible  class  has  already  been  mentioned. 
The  primary  end  which  he  proposed  in  this  was 
to  interest  the  youth  of  his  congregation,  and  thus 
bring  them  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  To  se- 
cure their  confidence  and  affection,  and  keep  them 
within  the  pale  of  the  sanctuary,  that  he  might 
thus  bring  them  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  he 
spared  no  pains,  remembering  that  what  they  were 
his  parish  would  soon  be — that,  if  they  should 
grow  up  in  the  fear  of  God,  the  Church  would  go 
on  to  prosper  and  enlarge  her  borders  ;  but  if  they 
should  become  alienated  and  withdraw  themselves 
from  her  ordinances  and  influences,  she  must  suf- 
fer the  decrepitude  of  old  age.  Nothing  struck  the 
mind  of  the  stranger,  who  had  occasion  to  spend 
a  Sabbath  in  Milan,  more  pleasantly  than  the 
manifest  hold  which  he  had  upon  the  hearts  of  the 
young  in  his  parish.  To  the  thoughtful  mind  no 
spectacle  can  be  more  animating  than  that  of  a 
congregation  in  which  the  children  are  found  by 
the  side  of  their  fathers ;  and  nothing  more  sad 
than  a  sanctuary  deserted  by  the  youth  of  the 
parish.    Over  the  door  of  such  a  Church  is  writ- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


163 


ten — "  The  glory  is  departed  ;"  and  upon  her  pul- 
pit is  inscribed  "  TekeW  She  is  gone  into  anility, 
and  unless  God  speedily  "  turn  the  heart  of  the 
fathers  to  the  children,  and  the  heart  of  the  chil- 
dren to  their  fathers,"  she  will  die  a  natural  death. 
It  is  with  the  hope  of  turning  the  attention  of 
pastors  more  earnestly  to  this  point,  that  Mr.  Jud- 
son's  anxious  care  for  the  youth  of  his  parish  has 
been  so  much  insisted  on. 

The  same  enlightened  concern  for  the  young 
impelled  him  to  undertake  the  arduous  work  of 
establishing  the  Huron  Institute.  We  have  seen 
that  this  institution  was  brought  into  existence 
mainly  by  his  energy  and  efforts.  He  himself 
claimed  it  as  his  own  child,  and  his  paternity  was 
never  denied  by  any  one.  It  may  be  added,  that 
he  took  a  fatherly  interest  in  its  prosperity,  watch- 
ing over  it  with  constant  solicitude,  and  exerted 
his  influence  to  bring  pupils  within  its  walls.  In 
projecting  this  Institute,  its  founders  had  in  view, 
as  we  have  seen,  not  only  the  general  education 
of  the  young,  but  especially  the  preparation  of 
young  men  for  College  who  had  the  ministry  in 
view.  Such  he  carefully  sought  out,  and,  when 
he  considered  them  worthy  of  encouragement, 
urged  them  to  enter  upon  a  course  of  education, 
and  assisted  them  to  obtain  the  requisite  funds. 
As  his  own  pecuniary  resources  were  limited,  this 
was  accomplished  by  the  presentation  of  their 
claims  to  such  as  were  able  to  render  them  the 


164 


MEMOIR  OF 


needful  aid.  A  large  number  of  men  now  in  the 
ministry  first  had  their  attention  directed  to  it  by 
him. 

In  his  ardor  for  accomplishing  this  work  he 
sometimes  went  too  far  in  the  earlier  years  of  his 
ministry.  This  he  afterwards  candidly  acknow- 
ledged. To  one  of  his  confidential  friends  he  said, 
that  he  had  formerly  erred  in  urging  young  men 
forward  prematurely  ;  that  thus  he  had  encouraged 
unworthy  persons ;  that  his  present  plan  was  to 
set  facts  before  them  with  plainness  and  fidelity, 
and  leave  them  to  judge  for  themselves.  When 
any  young  man  had  commenced  a  course  of  study, 
he  found  in  Mr.  Judson  a  kind,  though  very  candid 
counselor.  His  excellent  judgment,  the  fertility  of 
his  invention  in  providing  resources,  and  his  warm 
sympathising  manner,  caused  him  to  be  very  much 
resorted  to  by  students  in  their  embarrassments 
and  trials. 

When  the  student  had  gone  from  the  Institute 
to  the  College  his  solicitude  for  his  welfare  re- 
mained undiminished.  It  followed  him  from  the 
commencement  of  the  preparatory,  to  the  comple- 
tion of  the  theological  course.  "  I  well  remember," 
says  one,  "when  I  thought  of  leaving  the  Institu- 
tion of  which  he  was  a  Trustee  for  another  where 
I  hoped  to  enjoy  more  ample  pecuniary  resources, 
how  he  invited  me  to  sit  down  with  him  upon  an 
apple-tree  log  in  full  view  of  the  College  buildings, 
and  insisted  that  I  must  remain,  and  showed  how 
I  could  obtain  the  requisite  means.    As  he  thus 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


165 


conversed  with  me  the  tears  streamed  down  his 
cheeks."  His  own  sad  experience  of  the  evils  of 
a  defective  preparation  for  College,  led  him  to  in- 
sist earnestly  upon  thoroughness  in  the  prepara- 
tory studies.  When  the  student  had  entered  Col- 
lege he  was  strongly  opposed  to  any  interruption 
in  his  course. 

The  following  statements  furnished  the  author 
by  men  who  enjoyed  his  friendship  and  patronage, 
and  who  are  well  qualified  to  bear  testimony  on 
the  subject,  may  serve  as  illustrations  of  what  he 
was  accustomed  to  do  for  young  men  who  were 
in  a  course  of  preparation  for  the  ministry.  The 
first  is  from  the  pen  of  one  who  is  now  a  mission- 
ary in  the  foreign  field. 

"  I  remember  often  words  of  encouragement  and 
incitement  to  keep  me  along,  when  I  was  almost 
ready  to  stop  in  order  to  obtain  means.  Two  in- 
stances occur  to  me  now.  The  one  was  in  the 
second  term  of  my  Junior  year  in  College.  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  him  saying  that  he  had  made 
up  his  mind  that  I  must  not  stop  for  want  of 
means,  and  that,  if  1  had  no  other  resort,  I  might 
call  on  him,  and  he  would  see  that  my  wants  were 
supplied.  The  letter  contained  five  dollars,  and  I 
made  use  of  the  patronage  offered  several  times 
before  I  graduated.  I  think  that  the  amount  for 
which  he  received  a  note  at  the  close  of  my  [Col- 
lege] course  was  not  much  short  of  a  hundred 
dollars. 

The  other  instance  was  at  the  close  of  my 


166 


MEMOIR  OF 


second  year  in  Theology.  I  told  him  I  had  no 
means  and  could  not  remain  unless  I  took  the  aid 
of  the  Education  Society,  which  I  had  never  used, 
and  would  not  begin  to  use,  in  the  last  year  of 
my  course.  His  reply  was  as  usual,  '  You  must 
stay ;'  and  to  effect  this,  he  borrowed  a  hundred 
dollars  from  one  of  his  parishioners  who  should 
wait  on  me  till  I  could  pay  it.  The  plan  suc- 
ceeded, and  I  completed  my  regular  course. 

He  was  always  strongly  opposed  to  any  inter- 
ruption either  in  my  collegiate  or  theological 
course.  A  call  upon  him  during  vacation  was  al- 
ways attended  with  pleasant  hints  relative  to  my 
progress  in  study,  or  the  difficulties  which  I  en- 
countered. A  very  common  reply  to  my  complaint 
of  trouble  was  a  quotation  of  the  text,  (always  as- 
sociated in  my  mind  with  him,)  1  It  is  good  for  a 
man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth.'  " 

Another,  who  is  now  a  useful  pastor  on  the 
Western  Reserve,  bears  the  following  testimony. 

"  In  no  particular  part  of  his  pastoral  efforts 
was  Mr.  Judson  more  successful  than  in  looking 
up  young  men  for  the  christian  ministry.  The 
future  supply  of  the  Church  with  the  living 
teacher,  was  a  subject  that  pressed  with  great 
weight  upon  his  heart.  Believing  that  the  pre- 
sent generation  of  pastors  cannot  '  continue  by 
reason  of  death,'  he  felt  it  to  be  an  indispensable 
part  of  his  ministerial  duty  to  do  all  in  his  power, 
to  meet  both  present  and  future  demands.  He 
believed,  moreover,  that  this  work  would  not  take 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


167 


care  of  itself.  Nor,  in  his  opinion,  would  it  be 
efficiently  performed  if  left  to  the  Church,  or  to  the 
agents  of  the  great  benevolent  societies,  or  even 
to  the  officers  in  our  academies  and  colleges.  His 
conviction  was  deep  and  actuating  that  it  must  be 
attended  to  mainly  by  the  pastors  of  the  flock. 

And  he  endeavored  to  carry  out  his  theory  in 
practice.  Hence  originated  his  vigorous  and  self- 
denying  efforts  in  founding  and  sustaining  the 
Huron  Institute.  The  same  consideration  induced 
him  to  suspend  his  pastoral  labors  for  a  time,  at 
the  earnest  solicitations  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Western  Reserve  College,  to  engage  in  an  agency 
to  secure  its  permanent  endowment.  While  he 
was  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  cause  of  education 
in  general,  he  was  still  more  desirous  to  furnish 
the  Church  and  the  world  with  an  intelligent  and 
thoroughly  trained  ministry.  When  he  visited 
the  common  school  and  the  Academy,  he  was  ac- 
customed to  note  the  most  promising  of  the  youth, 
and  seek  occasion  privately  to  urge  upon  them 
the  claims  of  the  ministry.  Many  an  earnest  ap- 
peal has  he  made  in  the  conference-room,  in  the 
Sabbath-school,  at  the  monthly  concert,  and  in 
the  sanctuary,  to  the  pious  youth  of  his  charge ; 
urging  each  one  to  propound  the  solemn  question 
to  himself,  '  Ought  I  not  to  be  a  minister  of 
Christ?'  Never  can  I  forget  the  impression  those 
appeals  made  upon  my  mind,  even  while  impeni- 
tent. He  was  forward  also  in  urging  parents  to 
dedicate  their  sons  to  this  work.    In  his  pastoral 


168 


MEMOIR  OF 


visits  he  generally  had  something  to  say  on  this 
subject. 

But  Mr.  Judson's  eye  was  turned  especially  to 
the  Huron  Institute  as  his  nursery  of  christian 
ministers.  He  knew  all  its  pupils  personally,  and 
was  generally  acquainted  with  their  parentage  and 
early  history,  and  their  future  plans.  More  than 
one  entered  those  walls  with  the  fixed  purpose  of 
preparing  for  business,  but  left  them  with  a  heart 
on  fire  for  the  sacred  office,  mainly  through  his  in- 
fluence. In  order  to  gain  their  confidence,  and  get 
a  deeper  insight  into  their  characters,  he  would 
frequently  invite  them  to  his  study,  or  take  them 
with  him  to  attend  an  evening  meeting  in  some 
distant  part  of  his  parish.  And  the  heart  that 
would  not  open  itself  and  its  hidden  purposes  to 
his  touch  was  peculiarly  guarded. 

Mr.  Judson  had  an  ingenuity  in  developing  the 
gifts  and  graces  of  his  young  men  rarely  equaled. 
As  soon  as  one  professed  piety,  he  was  ready  with 
a  test  by  which  to  try  his  sincerity.  He  would 
call  upon  him  to  pray  and  to  speak  in  public  im- 
mediately ;  and  enlist  him  at  once  in  efforts  for 
the  spiritual  good  of  others.  Some  careless  com- 
panion was  to  be  warned,  some  prodigal  to  be 
brought  back  to  duty,  or  some  Sabbath  school  to 
be  collected  and  instructed  in  a  destitute  neigh- 
borhood. And  as  the  work  was  laid  out,  so  must 
it  be  performed.  He  was  an  accomplished  logi- 
cian, who  could  successfully  excuse  himself  from 
a  mission  to  which  Mr.  Judson  had  appointed  him. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


169 


In  this  way  was  he  ever  disciplining  the  pious 
and  hopeful  young  men  of  his  flock  for  the  service 
of  the  Church.  And  the  fruits  of  his  labors  are 
abundant.  Probably  no  pastor  on  the  Reserve 
has  been  instrumental,  directly  and  indirectly,  of 
putting  so  many  into  the  sacred  office  within  the 
same  length  of  time. 

"While  he  was  pastor  of  the  Church  in  Milan, 
twenty-six  young  men — all  beneficiaries  and  more 
or  less  assisted  by  him — passed  from  under  his  eye 
to  College.  Of  these  nineteen  have  already  en- 
tered the  ministry,  three  have  died,  and  the  others 
are  yet  in  their  course  of  preparation  to  preach 
the  gospel.  Very  many  of  this  number  would 
have  devoted  their  lives  to  other  employments  had 
it  not  been  for  his  special  exertions  in  their  be- 
half. 

And  he  did  something  more  than  counsel  them 
as  to  their  course  of  duty.  He  was  always  ready 
to  render  them  all  the  pecuniary  assistance  in  his 
power.  During  the  embarrassment  of  the  Educa- 
tion Society  in  1837-38-39,  many  of  the  benefi- 
ciaries were  obliged  to  board  themselves  in  their 
rooms,  and  live  upon  a  very  spare  and  stinted  al- 
lowance. Some  subsisted  for  days  together  upon 
crackers  alone.  The  kindness  of  Mr.  Judson  and 
his  generous-hearted  lady  was  most  conspicuous 
in  those  dark  days,  and  prevented  many  a  dis- 
heartened student  from  an  utter  abandonment  of 
his  studies.  Scarcely  a  week  passed  that  did  not 
bring  to  them  some  '  material  aid  and  comfort ' 
15 


170 


MEMOIR  OF 


from  the  parsonage.  Sometimes  it  came  in  the 
form  of  provisions  sent  to  their  rooms.  At  others 
they  were  invited,  either  collectively  or  individual- 
ly, to  partake  of  a  gratuitous  meal  prepared  for 
them  in  his  own  house.  And  he  did  quite  as 
much  by  his  counsel  on  such  occasions  to  inspire 
the  soul  with  a  purpose  to  persevere  in  the  good 
work,  as  he  did  to  refresh  the  body  by  the  staff  of 
life.  If  he  heard  of  one  who  was  about  to  'give 
up  the  ship '  because  '  the  wind  was  so  contrary,' 
he  would  seek  an  interview  with  him  at  once,  for 
the  purpose  of  persuading  him  to  continue  his 
struggle  a  little  longer,  assuring  him  that  the 
'  darkest  hour  was  just  before  day.'  He  would 
narrate  his  own  severe  but  successful  contests  with 
pecuniary  embarrassments.  Then  he  would  dis- 
close some  plan  he  himself  had  already  formed  to 
render  the  young  man  aid.  Either  he  had  made 
arrangements  to  take  him  into  his  own  family  and 
give  him  his  board ;  or  he  had  enlisted  some 
wealthy  friend  in  his  behalf ;  or  some  neighboring 
parish  had  agreed  to  support  him  through  his  en- 
tire course  of  study ;  or  some  lucrative  situation 
had  been  secured,  in  which  the  young  man  could 
save  enough  in  a  few  weeks  or  months,  to  enable 
him  to  pursue  his  studies  again  without  difficulty. 
No  way  was  so  strait  and  perplexing  but  Mr.  Jud- 
son  could  foresee  a  hopeful  egress.  His  plan  did 
not  always  succeed — but  when  it  did  not — which 
was  rare  indeed — it  was  a  safe  bridge  over  a  pre- 
sent difficulty. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


171 


The  following  is  a  specimen  of  his  ingenuity 
in  devising  schemes  of  support  for  the  indigent 
student.  In  the  spring  of  1839,  on  a  dark  foggy 
morning,  two  of  the  disheartened  beneficiaries, 
who,  I  believe,  were  on  the  last  year  of  their  pre- 
paration for  College,  called  on  Mr.  Judson,  to  ask 
his  opinion  in  reference  to  relinquishing  their 
studies.  After  a  very  minute  but  delicate  investi- 
gation of  their  circumstances  and  feelings,  he  said 
he  had  a  proposition  to  make,  but  that  they  could 
do  as  seemed  best  about  accepting  it.  Said  he, 
'  I  have  a  piece  of  very  rich  bottom  land  on  the 
run  back  of  the  Institute ;  and  I  will  give  you  the 
use  of  as  much  of  it  as  you  have  a  mind  to  spade 
up  and  plant  with  sugar  beets.  This  business, 
you  know,  is  getting  to  be  quite  common  and  bids 
fair  to  be  very  profitable ;  and  who  knows  how 
much  you  may  make  this  summer  in  this  way? 
All  your  outlay  will  be  for  the  seed,  as  the  labor 
can  all  be  performed  by  yourselves,  without  any 
interference  whatever  with  your  studies.  And,  in 
addition  to  the  money  you  will  probably  get  for 
your  beets,  you  will  receive  a  still  greater  advan- 
tage from  the  regular  exercise  it  will  afford  you.' 
The  proposal  appeared  to  be  both  generous  and 
wise,  and  was  cheerfully  acceded  to.  When  the 
proper  time  arrived,  the  ground  was  staked  out, 
thoroughly  spaded,  and  planted.  Morning  by 
morning  could  be  seen  the  two  young  men  delving 
away  in  the  beet-patch.  Sometimes  the  dews  of 
evening  would  distil  and  mingle  with  the  sweat 


172 


MEMOIR  OF 


of  their  persevering,  but  hopeful  toil.  Not  unfre- 
quently  Mr.  Judson  himself  was  an  eye  witness 
to  the  laborious  faithfulness  of  his  two  young 
friends,  being  always  ready  to  drop  a  word  of  ap- 
probation and  encouragement;  manifesting  as 
much  interest  in  the  enterprise  as  he  would  if  the 
profits  were  to  be  all  his  own. 

Time  passed  on.  Soon  after  the  beets  were  up 
a  drought  set  in  which  continued  to  the  end  of 
dog-days.  And  so  hot  was  the  summer,  and  so 
scorching  were  the  winds  and  scanty  the  rains  and 
dews,  that  the  bright  vision  of  the  beet  specula- 
tors began  to  disappear  rapidly.  It  continued  to 
vanish  away,  until  it  was  so  nearly  dissolved  that 
Mr.  Judson's  old  cow  finally  disposed  of  the  beet 
crop,  root  and  branch,  in  one  or  two  meals  without 
any  difficulty.  Both  parties  were  greatly  disap- 
pointed in  this  unlooked  for  result,  but  I  do  not 
know  that  any  very  serious  consequences  followed. 
Mr.  Judson  lost  the  use  of  his  ground,  and  the  two 
students  their  beet-seed  and  hard  labor.  But  it 
was  by  no  means  a  bootless  experiment.  That 
beet-patch  was  the  '  crossing  the  Rubicon  '  to  the 
young  men,  and  to  Mr.  Judson  was  a  satisfactory 
test  of  their  grit  and  willingness  to  help  them- 
selves, which  probably  was  one  object  he  had  in 
view  in  making  such  a  proposal.  Having  found 
them  faithful  in  a  very  little,  he  deemed  them 
worthy  of  much,  and  ever  after  was  incessant  in 
his  acts  of  kindness  to  them  through  the  whole  of 
their  studies.     Both  of  them   entered  College, 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


173 


pressed  their  way  through,  in  the  face  of  much 
pecuniary  embarrassment,  have  since  studied  the- 
ology, and  are  now  in  the  ministry.  If  they  ever 
do  any  thing  to  honor  God  and  save  souls,  very 
much  of  the  credit  will  be  due  to  Mr.  Judson  and 
the  beet  speculation.  Many  other  facts  of  a  simi- 
lar character  could  be  related,  bearing  upon  the 
same  traits  of  his  character,  did  time  permit.  But 
this  one  must  suffice. 

Should  every  minister  imitate  Mr.  Judson  in 
this  respect,  how  long  would  it  be  before  the  halls 
of  our  colleges  and  seminaries  would  be  filled  with 
candidates  for  the  sacred  office,  and  all  the  desti- 
tute portions  of  our  land  be  blessed  with  the  la- 
bors of  the  living  teacher  of  the  holy  gospel  ? 
Is  it  not  reasonably  expected  and  demanded  of 
such  as  shared  so  liberally  in  his  benefactions, 
that  they  will  follow  him  in  this  part  of  their 
ministerial  labors  ?" 

Another  still  says : 

"  My  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Judson 
was  only  during  the  time  of  my  stay  at  the  Huron 
Institute,  a  term  of  two  years.  On  my  first  visit 
at  his  house  I  was  not  decided  to  take  a  collegiate 
course  of  education,  having  been  advised  by  my 
pastor  to  take  a  partial  course.  Mr.  Judson  in- 
quired my  age  and  my  means,  and  somewhat  of 
my  ability ;  whether  I  could  study  hard  and  long. 
He  said  my  means  were  not  sufficient,  but  by  aid 
from  the  Education  Society  I  could  get  through, 
and  the  course  he  advised  was  that  of  a  thorough 
15* 


174 


MEMOIR  OF 


collegiate  education.  He  said  my  age  was  about 
his  when  he  entered  upon  a  course  of  education ; 
though  rather  old  it  was  no  objection.  Then  he 
went  on  to  give  a  condensed  biography  of  himself, 
and  this  he  did  in  such  an  animated  way  and  with 
so  much  enthusiasm,  that  when  I  turned  to  leave 
I  soliloquized  thus :  Well,  if  Mr.  Judson,  a  man 
of  such  influence  and  power,  was,  at  my  age,  as  he 
says,  such  as  I  am,  why  may  not  I,  at  Mr.  Judson's 
age,  be  as  useful  as  he?  If  a  man  can,  by  labor 
and  perseverance,  thus  rise  through  all  sorts  of 
difficulties,  and  become  a  man  of  such  extensive 
usefulness,  may  not  I  by  the  same  course  at  least 
hope  to  accomplish  something?  What  man  has 
done,  man  can  do.  A  new  thought  crowded  on 
my  mind.  It  was  that  a  man  could  and  must 
make  himself.    Hope  rose  high. 

It  is  my  wish,  as  one  point  of  usefulness  of  your 
memoir,  that  you  make  prominent  the  state  of  Mr. 
Judson's  mind  when  he  entered  upon  his  studies, 
point  out  the  difficulties  he  surmounted,  mark  ac- 
curately his  mental  progress,  tell  when,  where  and 
how  he  met  and  vanquished  obstacles.  In  my 
opinion  it  will  do  more  to  inspire,  encourage;  and 
sustain  the  christian  ministry  in  all  its  primitive 
devotion,  earnestness,  boldness  and  loftiness,  to 
present  in  its  fulness  this  one  living  example,  than 
would  whole  volumes  of  theories.  He  managed 
to  get  young  men  into  a  course  of  study  by  his 
own  example.  He  helped  them  through  their  dif- 
ficulties by  his  example — he  encouraged  them  by 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


175 


his  example.  The  recital  of  his  own  history,  told 
in  the  simple,  graphic  style  of  Homer's  Iliad,  in- 
flamed the  mind  of  every  young  listener,  and 
awakened  longings  for  powers  of  usefulness.  His 
story  always  showed  how  power  was  gained,  by 
resolution  and  perseverance  in  overcoming  diffi- 
culties ;  how  man  grows,  how  he  becomes  strong. 
The  means  of  success  were  no  longer  dark  or 
doubtful.  His  own  history  showed  one  just  where 
and  how  to  labor.  Hence  his  success  in  getting 
young  men  through  a  thorough  course  into  the 
gospel  ministry. 

Another  element,  which  tended  greally  to  en- 
courage and  fortify  young  men  in  their  progress  in 
study,  was  his  decided  religious  influence.  If  a 
young  man,  a  professor  of  religion,  came  to  the 
Institute,  and  was  not  seen  in  his  place  at  the 
prayer-meeting,  Mr.  Judson  would  ask  the  reason, 
and  he  would  press  the  young  man's  conscience 
till  his  place  was  regularly  filled.  And  he  was 
not  permitted  to  sit  as  an  idle  spectator ;  he  must 
have  something  to  do  ;  he  must  pray  at  the  prayer- 
meeting,  and  he  must  get  up  and  (as  Mr.  Judson 
used  to  express  it)  '  not  make  a  set  speech,  but  tell 
some  simple  truth.'  If  a  student  at  the  Institute 
did  not  work  he  was  sure  to  meet  with  Mr.  Jud- 
son's  cutting  rebuke.  And  he  never  spared  a 
troubled  conscience.  I  have  seen  young  men  cut 
down  and  then  hewn  in  pieces.  In  this  respect 
Mr.  Judson  showed  no  mercy. 

Mi-.  Judson  went  further.    On  the  Sabbath  his 


176 


MEMOIR  OF 


eye  was  on  the  congregation.  If  he  saw  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Institute,  whether  a  professor  or  not, 
hold  his  head  down  or  show  any  want  of  atten- 
tion, (and  listlessness  was  least  to  be  expected  in 
one  of  his  discourses,)  that  person  was  sure  to  have 
some  cutting  question  asked  him  by  Mr.  Judson 
the  next  time  they  met;  and,  as  he  lived  just 
across  the  way  from  the  Institute,  the  inattentive 
one  did  not  usually  escape  longer  than  till  Monday 
or  Tuesday. 

Mr.  Judson's  rebukes  were  very  severe,  yet  ad- 
ministered in  such  a  way  as  not  to  give  offense. 

Dec.  6,  1843,  he  gave  us  a  lecture  at  the  Insti- 
tute, and  took  for  his  theme,  '  Tlie  inducements  to 
a  thorough  education.''  In  it  he  spoke  much  of 
Roger  Sherman,  how  he  overcame  his  difficulties; 
how  every  one  is  self  taught ;  how  long  and  hard 
study  makes  a  strong  man  ;  how  the  secret  of  pro- 
gress and  success  in  learning  is  to  take  every 
thing  thoroughly;  how  important  is  thorough  dis- 
cipline of  mind  ;  how  one  must  learn  to  think,  and 
think  closely  and  accurately  and  consecutively. 
These  points,  presented  in  Mr.  Judson's  own  style, 
made  a  good  impression,  and  some  half  a  dozen 
of  his  listeners  have  since  graduated  at  the  West- 
ern Reserve  College." 

Mr.  Judson  had  no  children  of  his  own.  He 
often  received  as  inmates  of  his  family  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  period  the  children  of  others ;  and  over 
such  he  watched  with  truly  parental  solicitude. 


EVERTON  JUDSONT. 


177 


He  commonly  had  also  some  boarders  in  his  fami- 
ly who  were  in  attendance  upon  the  Huron  Insti- 
tute. Of  those  who  thus  came  more  immediately 
under  his  influence  it  has  been  remarked  that  an 
unusual  number  became  Christians,  and  Christians 
too  of  that  class  who  did  not  go  back  into  the 
world. 

He  had  a  jocular  turn  of  mind  in  which  he 
sometimes  indulged  himself  with  his  young 
friends.  But  if  any,  presuming  upon  their  famil- 
iarity, attempted  to  practice  upon  him  their  witti- 
cisms, they  were  soon  made  to  understand  that  in 
this  business  the  personation  of  the  active  voice 
belonged  to  him,  and  of  the  passive,  to  themselves. 
A  dignified  silence,  or  a  grave  question  to  a  third 
person  on  some  topic  as  far  removed  as  possible 
from  the  matter  on  hand,  was  among  the  ways  in 
which  he  conveyed  to  the  offender  the  hint  that  he 
did  not  place  him  on  a  level  with  himself.  Even 
his  intimate  friends  and  equals  understood  well 
that  it  became  them  to  be  very  careful  in  this 
matter. 

It  remains  to  consider  Mr.  Judson's  efforts  for 
the  young  in  connection  with  the  Western  Re- 
serve College.  He  had  not  the  honor  to  be  num- 
bered among  its  founders  and  pioneer  patrons. 
The  subscription  list  was  opened  in  1823,  before 
its  location  in  Hudson,  under  the  agency  of  the 
Rev.  Caleb  Pitkin,  and  it  was  prosecuted  for  the 


178 


MEMOIR  OF 


space  of  six  years  before  he  came  upon  the  ground. 
His  earliest  recorded  donation  to  the  College  was 
in  1831.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  become 
deeply  interested  in  its  affairs  till  about  the  year 
1837.  From  that  time  to  the  day  of  his  death  he 
was  numbered  among  the  warmest  and  most  effi- 
cient friends  of  the  Institution.  Of  his  election, 
in  1842,  to  the  office  of  a  Trustee,  and  his  tempo- 
rary agency  the  following  year  mention  has  al- 
ready been  made.  But  it  may  be  proper  here  to 
review  the  results  of  his  labors  for  that  Institu- 
tion. 

And  first  of  all  it  may  be  confidently  affirmed 
that  no  pastor  on  the  Western  Reserve  was  the 
means  of  directing  so  many  young  men  to  the 
College  for  an  education  preparatory  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  One  of  these,  to  whom  the  au- 
thor made  application  for  an  expression  of  his 
views  on  the  subject,  answered,  briefly  but  very 
comprehensively,  "  If  it  had  not  been  for  Mr.  Jud- 
son,  I  should  not  have  been  here."  So  might  other 
ministers  at  home  and  in  the  foreign  field  answer. 
It  was  by  his  agency  that  their  thoughts  were 
turned  towards  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  their 
steps  directed  to  the  Western  Reserve  College. 
For  accomplishing  this  most  desirable  end  he  had 
already  provided,  in  the  Huron  Institute,  in  which 
he  ever  had  a  paramount  influence,  a  most  efficient 
instrumentality. 

Then  again  his  influence  in  behalf  of  the  Col- 
lege in  his  own  congregation,  and  throughout  the 


EVERTON  JUDSON.  179 

whole  adjacent  region  was  most  happy.  Well 
knowing  that  knowledge  and  mutual  intercourse 
lie  at  the  foundation  of  true  affection  and  interest, 
he  was  at  pains  to  introduce  the  officers  of  the 
College  to  the  acquaintance  of  his  people,  by 
means  of  addresses  and  courses  of  lectures.  They 
were  sure  ever  to  meet  with  a  generous  reception, 
and  the  mutual  acquaintance  thus  formed  was 
productive  of  the  happiest  results.  It  was  not  by 
some  lucky  contingency,  but  through  the  influence 
of  his  long  continued  and  judicious  labors,  assisted 
by  men  of  his  own  spirit,  that,  in  the  late  effort  to 
endow  the  College,  so  rich  a  harvest  was  reaped 
from  Huron  and  Erie  counties.  He  had,  indeed, 
gone  to  his  rest.  But  his  spirit,  like  a  good 
leaven,  had  diffused  itself  throughout  the  region. 
The  title  of  "  Judson  Professorship"  given  to  the 
Professorship  raised  in  these  two  counties,  is  not 
an  empty  name.  Its  meaning  is  that  to  influences 
which  emanated  from  him  the  College  is,  under 
God,  principally  indebted  for  its  success  in  that 
effort.  Now  that  he  can  no  longer  be  present  in 
person,  he  still  helps  the  Institution  through  the 
good  influences  in  its  behalf  of  which  he  was 
once  the  centre ;  and  so  long  as  there  shall  remain 
a  breast  inspired  with  his  spirit,  so  long  will  there 
be  one  to  pray  for  the  prosperity  of  the  Western 
Reserve  College,  and  to  help  it  in  its  necessities. 


180  MEMOIR  OF 

Section  V. 

His  Position  in  regard  to  Questions  of  Reform. 

We  have  seen  the  decided  stand  which  Mr. 
Judson  took  on  the  subject  of  temperance  very- 
early  in  the  history  of  the  temperance  reformation, 
while  he  was  yet  employed  on  his  father's  farm  in 
Woodbury.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  add  that 
this  cause  ever  found  in  him  a  stanch  and  efficient 
advocate. 

His  love  for  the  colored  race  was  sufficiently 
manifested  by  his  laborious  efforts  for  their  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  welfare  during  his  collegiate 
and  theological  course.  He  was  one  that  loved 
the  children  of  Africa  "  not  in  word  neither  in 
tongue,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth."  For  noisy  de- 
monstrations of  his  regard  for  their  welfare  he  had 
no  relish.  He  chose  the  more  excellent  way  of 
doing  them  good  as  he  had  opportunity,  in  a  quiet 
and  unostentatious  form:  and  yet  he  did  not  shrink 
from  a  public  avowal  of  his  relation  to  them  when 
he  judged  it  necessary.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
final  emancipation  of  the  people  of  color  in  the 
State  of  New  York  in  1824,  the  colored  congrega- 
tion in  New  Haven  celebrated  the  event  by  a  pub- 
lic procession.  One  of  the  teachers  in  the  Sabbath 
school  was  unwilling  to  appear  with  his  pupils  in 
this  formal  manner;  but  Mr.  Judson  marched  at 
the  head  of  the  procession  by  the  side  of  Mr.  Joce- 


EVERTON  JUDSON.  181 

lyn,  because  he  thought  it  right  on  such  an  occa- 
sion to  let  his  position  in  the  colored  congregation 
be  known. 

When  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  of  the  North 
began  to  embody  itself  in  the  form  of  abolition 
societies,  he  made  a  very  characteristic  remark — 
that  he  believed  he  should  be  an  abolitionist  if 
he  was  not  afraid  of  running  mad.  The  remark 
was  made  in  view  of  the  extravagance  of  some  of 
the  leaders.  He  did  become  a  warm  abolitionist, 
was  a  member  of  the  Huron  County  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  and  occasionally  delivered  anti-slavery 
addresses,  but  he  took  care  to  keep  his  senses  and 
his  independence  too. 

He  went  very  heartily  with  the  Abolition  So- 
ciety until  the  proposal  was  made  by  the  leaders 
to  give  it  a  distinctly  political  aspect.  The  first 
movement  in  his  region  in  this  direction  was  at 
an  anti-slavery  meeting  held  in  the  Huron  Insti- 
tute about  the  year  1836.  A  resolution  was  intro- 
duced that  candidates  for  office  should  be  publicly 
questioned  respecting  their  views  on  the  subject. 
A  warm  debate  ensued,  in  which  Mr.  Judson 
earnestly  opposed  the  measure,  as  giving  to  the 
Society  a  political  aspect,  and  declared,  with  no 
little  heat,  that  if  this  principle  was  to  prevail  he 
had  done  with  the  Society.  It  did  prevail,  and 
he  was  as  good  as  his  word,  for  he  never  after- 
wards attended  its  meetings. 

The  principle  which  he  ever  strenuously  advo- 
cated in  regard  to  all  voluntary  associations  for 
16 


182 


MEMOIR  OF 


moral  reform  was  that  they  ought  to  stand  upon  a 
purely  moral  basis,  and  not  to  invoke  political  aid 
for  the  accomplishment  of  their  objects.  That  the 
people,  acting  in  their  proper  capacity  as  citizens, 
may  lawfully  legislate  in  respect  to  slavery  or  any 
other  political  evil,  he  did  not  of  course  deny. 
But  he  insisted  that  voluntary  societies  proposing 
to  themselves  a  moral  end,  should  rely  on  moral 
means  alone.  His  argument  was  that  a  resort  to 
political  aid  tends  to  corrupt  the  purity  of  these 
societies,  and  convert  them  into  engines  for  the 
use  of  political  hypocrites.  This  principle  he  ap- 
plied to  all  voluntary  associations — for  temperance, 
for  anti-slavery,  for  the  suppression  of  Sunday 
mails,  etc.  On  this  ground  he  refused  to  sign  a 
petition  to  Congress  against  Sunday  mails.  Many 
of  his  brethren  thought  that  in  this  matter  he  went 
to  an  extreme.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  author 
to  state  his  position  correctly,  and  leave  it  to  the 
judgment  of  the  reader. 

In  all  questions  of  moral  reform  Mr.  Judson  was 
disposed  to  go  beneath  the  surface  and  look  at  the 
reality.  He  would  not  assent  to  measures  which 
he  believed  to  be  wrong  because  their  advocates 
marched  under  the  banner  of  freedom,  and  might, 
perchance,  apply  to  him  the  epithet  of  "  pro- 
slavery."  Nor  would  he  put  up  at  a  hotel  because 
its  front  was  labeled  "  Temperance  House,"  unless 
it  was  in  other  respects  worthy  of  patronage ;  for 
he  did  not  believe  that  the  landlord  had  a  right, 
under  color  of  keeping  a  temperance  house,  to  put 


EVERTON  JUDSON, 


183 


him  off  with  poor  accommodations.  Having  oc- 
casion one  morning  to  stop  in  his  carriage  before 
the  door  of  a  "  Temperance  House  "  where  he  had 
not  staid  the  preceding  night,  (having  been  enter- 
tained at  a  private  house,)  the  landlord,  who  sus- 
pected him  of  being  hostile  to  his  establishment, 
improved  the  opportunity  to  deliver  to  him  a  lec- 
ture on  the  impropriety  of  his  course.  Mr.  Judson 
listened  with  dignified  silence  till  he  was  pleased 
to  bring  his  homily  to  a  close.  He  then  said, 
"  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  any  thing  to  say  in 
reply :  good  morning,  Sir :"  and,  with  a  formal 
bow,  drove  off. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


HIS  LAST  SICKNESS  AND  DEATH. 


Till  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  age  Mr. 
Judson  worked  on  a  farm.  During  this  period  his 
health  was  good.  The  change  in  his  habits  when 
he  commenced  the  work  of  preparation  for  the 
ministry  operated  unfavorably  to  his  health.  In 
the  College  and  Theological  Seminary  he  was 
pale,  thin,  and  dyspeptic.  He  was  through  his 
whole  life  subject  to  severe  attacks  of  sickness, 
particularly  when  traveling.  From  irregularities 
in  diet  he  suffered  much.  We  have  seen  how  his 
health  was  completely  broken  down  during  his 
Sabbath  School  agency  in  Ohio,  and  how,  imme- 
diately upon  his  arrival  in  Milan,  he  was  seized 
with  chills  and  fever,  from  which  he  suffered  all 
the  following  winter.  After  his  recovery  from  that 
attack  he  enjoyed  better  health,  and  the  tendency 
in  his  constitution  to  corpulency  began  to  mani- 
fest itself.  From  excessive  lifting  on  one  occasion 
during  the  erection  of  the  Church,  he  injured  him- 
self greatly,  and  was  laid  aside  several  days  with 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


185 


a  severe  pain  in  his  right  side.  After  that  event 
he  was  never  able  to  endure  severe  exercise. 

Mr.  Judson  was  fond  of  gardening,  and  the  cul- 
tivation of  his  house-lot,  upon  which  he  bestowed 
much  care,  afforded  an  agreeable  and  exhilarating 
exercise  that  was  greatly  conducive  to  his  health. 
But,  for  the  two  years  preceding  the  fatal  attack 
which  put  an  end  to  his  public  life,  he  labored  but 
little  in  his  garden,  while  his  toils  in  his  study 
and  parish  were  increasing.  He  was  naturally  of 
an  apoplectic  make,  and  had  now  become  quite 
corpulent.  Premonitory  symptoms  of  apoplexy 
began  at  this  time  to  show  themselves.  For  many 
months  he  complained  of  a  constant  ringing  in  his 
ears  and  flashes  of  light  from  his  eyes.  On  one 
occasion,  while  at  table,  there  was  a  sudden  rush 
of  blood  to  the  head  with  dizziness  and  blindness. 
This  occurred  but  once,  and  its  duration  was  very 
brief.  Yet  so  well  convinced  was  he  of  the  nature 
of  this  and  of  the  other  symptoms,  that  he  had 
begun  to  read  and  make  investigations  in  refer- 
ence to  the  disorder  which  they  foretokened. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that,  aware  as  he 
was  of  the  danger  which  threatened  him,  he  did 
not  relax  his  mental,  and  increase  his  physical  la- 
bors. But  he  had  commenced  a  course  of  lectures 
on  the  Evidences  of  Revelation,  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  which  his  whole  soul  was  given.  He  had 
succeeded  in  awakening  a  deep  interest  in  the 
subject,  which  he  felt  himself  fully  committed  to 
sustain.  The  preparation  of  these  lectures  was  to 
16* 


186 


MEMOIR  OF 


his  mental  powers  very  expensive  and  exhausting, 
requiring  much  reading  and  careful  investigation. 
To  a  friend  he  stated,  just  before  the  attack  of 
apoplexy,  that  his  sermons  on  the  Evidences  of 
Christianity  cost  him  more  than  double  the  labor 
of  his  ordinary  discourses. 

While  thus  severely  taxing  himself  with  his 
preparations  for  the  pulpit,  he  received  an  invita- 
tion, in  November  1847,  to  deliver  an  address  be- 
fore the  Young  Men's  Library  Association  in 
Cleveland.  Such  an  opportunity  to  exert  a  good 
influence  in  behalf  of  young  men  he  was  not  the 
man  to  let  pass  unimproved.  Upon  a  short  notice 
he  prepared  an  address  with  great  care  and  labor. 
While  he  was  in  Cleveland,  it  was  noticed  by  his 
friends  that  he  was  oppressed  with  an  unusual 
lethargy.  He  returned  to  Milan  on  Saturday  with 
no  preparation  for  the  ensuing  Sabbath.  He  had 
announced  a  special  subject  in  his  course  of  ser- 
mons, and  he  could  not  admit  the  thought  of  dis- 
appointing the  congregation.  He  wrote  till  after 
midnight,  lay  down  and  slept  two  or  three  hours, 
and  then  resumed  his  toil,  completing  his  dis- 
course just  before  the  hour  of  meeting.  This  im- 
prudence was  the  more  remarkable,  when  we  con- 
sider that  the  symptoms  of  apoplexy  had  been  so 
plain  that  he  himself  had  expressed  his  apprehen- 
sion of  an  attack. 

It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  Sabbath,  the  19th 
day  of  December,  two  weeks  after  this  extraordi- 
nary effort,  and  while  he  was  engaged  in  the 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


187 


prayer  before  sermon,  that  the  attack  came  on, 
His  voice  suddenly  ceased,  and  he  fell  forward 
with  a  groan  upon  the  pulpit.  The  loss  of  con- 
sciousness was  but  brief,  and  he  was  able  to  walk 
across  the  street  to  the  house  of  Dr.  Galpin. 

Of  his  own  choice  he  now  put  himself,  contrary 
to  the  advice  of  his  physicians,  upon  an  extremely 
low  diet.  This  he  did  from  the  impression  that 
his  life  depended  upon  it,  as  he  had  constant  apo- 
plectic symptoms,  such  as  a  pressure  on  the  brain 
and  ringing  in  the  ears.  Meanwhile  a  journey  to 
the  eastern  states,  including  a  visit  to  "Woodbury, 
his  native  place,  had  been  projected,  with  the  hope 
that  he  might  derive  benefit  from  it.  About  the 
middle  of  May,  after  he  had  commenced  this  jour- 
ney accompanied  by  Mrs.  Judson,  the  apoplectic 
symptoms  suddenly  ceased,  and  signs  of  a  vitiated 
state  of  the  secretions  of  the  liver  appeared.  It 
was  manifest  that  the  brain  had  been  relieved  at 
the  expense  of  the  liver  and  digestive  organs.  It 
was  the  opinion  of  his  physicians  that  the  disor- 
der which  now  began  to  show  itself,  and  which 
soon  put  an  end  to  his  earthly  existence,  was  a 
schirrous  affection  of  some  internal  organ,  proba- 
bly the  liver.  To  affections  of  this  kind  there  was 
a  predisposition  in  his  family.  His  brother  Ben- 
jamin died  of  a  similar  difficulty.  He  prose- 
cuted his  journey  to  the  East  and  visited  his  na- 
tive home. 

From  Green's  Farms  he  wrote,  June  22,  1848, 
to  Dr.  M.  Stuart  of  Milan,  as  follows :  "  So  far  as 


188 


MEMOIR  OP 


my  head  has  been  concerned,  I  could,  for  the  last 
three  weeks,  have  preached;  but  such  has  been 
my  general  debility  that  I  have  scarcely  felt  able 
to  walk  half  a  mile,  and  that  at  an  exceedingly 
moderate  gait.  This  state  of  health  has  kept  the 
future,  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned,  quite 
veiled."  After  detailing  his  distressing  symptoms, 
he  goes  on  to  say  :  "  I  must  beg  of  you  not  to  in- 
fer from  all  this  tale  of  woe,  that  I  have  been  dis- 
spirited  or  gloomy.  I  believe  I  have  been  cheer- 
ful as  usual,  except  at  those  periods  when  my 
sufferings  have  been  such  as  to  prostrate  strength 
and  spirits  together.  I  think  my  protracted  pros- 
tration has  made  the  world  look  more  worthless 
than  ever  before,  and  yet  I  cling  to  it.  I  should 
like  yet  again  to  preach  in  my  Master's  name,  and 
on  his  behalf,  but  I  will  not  complain,  though  he 
slay  me.  *  *  *  I  can  say  nothing  definite  about 
a  return.  I  wish  to  give  a  fair  trial  to  the  climate ; 
but,  if  I  do  not  gain  soon,  I  shall  undertake  a  re- 
turn. I  had  rather  be  sick  and  die  in  Milan,  than 
in  any  other  spot  on  earth." 

His  journey  to  the  East  was  attended  with  no 
apparent  benefit,  and  he  returned  to  Milan  on  the 
18th  of  July  in  a  state  of  extreme  debility  and 
suffering. 

Such  was  his  prostration  at  one  time  during  his 
stay  in  Woodbury  that  he  well  nigh  despaired  of 
ever  returning  home.  The  apprehension  of  dying 
at  a  distance  from  his  beloved  people  in  Milan 
was  to  him  a  cause  of  great  uneasiness  ;  and,  after 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


189 


his  return,  he  frequently  expressed  his  devout 
gratitude  to  God  for  the  privilege  of  spending  his 
last  hours  in  the  bosom  of  the  congregation  to 
whose  spiritual  good  he  had  so  many  years  de- 
voted himself. 

His  disease  progressing  rapidly,  soon  assumed 
its  final  form,  that  of  abdominal  dropsy,  and 
it  was  manifest  that  all  hope  of  a  favorable  issue 
was  at  an  end.  It  remains  to  consider  the  closing 
scene  in  his  life.  The  following  extract  from  the 
sermon  preached  by  the  Rev.  A.  Newton  on  the 
occasion  of  his  funeral,  well  expresses  the  charac- 
ter of  this.  "  The  last  hours  of  Mr.  Judson  were 
in  beautiful  harmony  with  the  whole  tenor  of  his 
life.  His  was  a  religion  of  deep-seated  principle, 
resembling  the  equable  flow  of  a  majestic  river, 
rather  than  the  fitful  impetuosity  of  a  mountain 
torrent.  His  dying  conduct,  like  his  living,  bore 
the  impress  of  holiness  to  the  Lord.  There  were 
no  raptures — no  ecstasies — but  a  calm  confidence, 
a  peaceful  trust  in  God.  His  spirit  obeyed  the 
divine  will  as  the  law  of  its  being — abased  itself 
before  the  infinite  purity  of  the  Divine  majesty — 
manifested  its  adoring  gratitude  for  redemption, 
and  its  self-renouncing  faith  in  the  Redeemer. 
These,  as  they  were  the  elements  of  his  piety,  and 
its  grand  characteristic  in  life,  were  conspicuous 
in  death." 

During  the  whole  of  his  last  sickness  his  suffer- 
ings were  great  and  un intermitted.  He  never 
seemed  to  have  a  moment's  ease.    Yet  of  these 


190 


MEMOIR  OF 


sufferings  he  was  never  heard  to  complain.  He 
spoke  of  them  with  cheerfulness,  as  those  which 
his  heavenly  Father  had  appointed  him  to  bear  in 
order  that  he  might  be  delivered  from  the  body. 
To  Mrs.  Judson  he  remarked,  that  they  were  just 
such  sufferings  as  he  had  anticipated — that  many 
of  his  family  had  suffered  in  the  same  way  before 
him.  With  reference  to  his  languishing  condi- 
tion, with  the  certain  prospect  of  death  before 
him,  he  once  said  to  Mr.  Newton  :  "  Since  I  have 
been  sick,  perhaps  no  human  language  can  better 
express  my  feelings  than  Toplady's  hymn,"  the 
first  verse  of  which  he  repeated  : — 

"  When  languor  and  disease  invade 

This  trembling  house  of  clay, 
'Tis  sweet  to  look  beyond  my  pains, 

And  long  to  fly  away." 

He  added,  "  I  would  except  the  word  '  lofig' 
and  substitute  for  it  wait :  for  it  would  seem  pre- 
sumption, in  one  so  much  encompassed  with  in- 
firmities as  I  am,  to  long  to  fly  away." 

Of  death  he  ever  spoke  with  entire  composure 
as  of  a  journey  to  his  heavenly  home,  expressing 
a  humble  but  firm  hope  of  his  interest  in  Christ. 
As  he  was  looking  through  the  window  one  morn- 
ing at  his  garden,  about  a  week  before  his  death, 
he  exclaimed,  "  How  beautiful !"  A  friend  said, 
"  Do  you  not  regret  to  leave  it  ?"  "  Oh  no,"  he 
replied,  "  I  feel  that  I  am  letting  go  of  earth." 
During  the  progress  of  his  disease,  Dr.  John  Dela- 
mater  of  Cleveland  visited  him,  and,  with  his  usual 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


191 


frankness,  communicated  to  him  his  view  of  his 
condition.  His  wife's  mother  coming  in  soon 
after  the  doctor's  departure,  he  took  her  hand  with 
a  placid  countenance,  pressed  it  tenderly,  and  said, 
u  Well,  mother,  Dr.  Delamater  has  just  left.  He 
says  there  is  nothing  that  can  arrest  the  rapid 
downward  course  of  my  disease;  and  I  think  I 
can  say,  '  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemeth  good 
in  thy  sight.' "  Seeing  one  day  his  wife  in  tears, 
he  said  tenderly,  "  I  have  all  the  joy,  you  have  all 
the  trial  of  this  separation."  A  friend,  before 
praying  with  him,  had  read  to  him  our  Savior's 
last  prayer  for  his  disciples.  After  he  was  gone 
he  said  to  Mrs.  Judson,  with  eyes  filled  with  tears, 
u  What  a  privilege  to  have  been  included  in  that 
prayer !"  His  oft  repeated  declaration  to  his  friends 
was  that  he  found  the  gospel  which  he  had  preach- 
ed to  others  fully  adequate  to  meet  all  his  wants. 
"  I  never  realized  so  fully  before,"  he  said,  "  that 
there  is  '  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved.'  " 

In  reviewing  his  ministry  he  said,  "  I  felt  re- 
luctant to  commence  a  course  of  study  for  the 
ministry,  on  account  of  my  advanced  age.  I  did 
it  at  the  earnest  request  of  my  father.  I  have 
been  twenty  years  in  that  office,  and  that,  I  sup- 
pose, is  as  long  as  the  average  life  of  ministers. 
So  far  as  labor  is  concerned,  I  have  nothing  to  re- 
gret. I  have  done  all  I  could.  But  the  manner 
and  spirit  in  which  this  work  has  been  per- 
formed have  fallen  far  below  what  they  should 


192 


MEMOIR  OF 


have  been.  How  much  have  I  te  regret  in  that 
respect ! 

The  parting  intercourse  of  a  faithful  pastor 
with  his  people  is  of  a  high  and  holy  character. 
As  the  lamp  of  life  grows  dim  and  begins  to 
flicker,  the  flame  of  his  affection  for  them  kindles 
into  new  purity  and  splendor.  His  love  for  them 
has  taken  hold  of  eternity,  and  it  is  natural  that, 
as  he  draws  near  to  his  heavenly  home,  he  should 
think  much  of  those  whose  preparation  for  the 
same  blest  abode  has  been  the  very  scope  of  his 
ministry.  Nothing  in  the  closing  scene  of  Mr. 
Judson's  life  is  more  touching  than  his  affectionate 
regard  for  the  members  of  his  congregation.* 
The  little  strength  he  had  to  spare  he  spent  in 
conversing  with  them  as  they  called  upon  him. 
Upon  them  all  he  urged  faithfulness  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  christian  duties,  varying  his  exhor- 
tations according  to  their  different  circumstances 
and  relations,  and  he  hardly  ever  failed  to  add  an 
earnest  exhortation  to  "  keep  the  unity  of  the 

*  Since  writing  the  above  the  author  has  met  with  the  following 
just  and  beautiful  reflection,  in  the  Memoir  of  Dr.  William  Gordon, 
published  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication.  It  is  here  inserted 
as  applicable,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  words,  to  the  last  days  of  Mr. 
Judson's  life. 

"  There  is  a  sad  satisfaction  in  a  deliberate  farewell  previous  to  a 
long  separation,  the  loss  of  which  is  the  greatest  evil  connected  with 
the  sudden  death  of  a  Christian.  But  this  privilege  was  fully  enjoyed 
in  the  present  instance,  and  a  rich  legacy  of  love  and  piety  bequeathed 
to  survivors,  more  precious  than  any  worldly  wealth." — Triumph  over 
Death,  p.  86. 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


193 


spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace."  These  words  were 
constantly  on  his  lips.  Of  the  unconverted  in  his 
congregation  he  said,  "  My  preaching  to  them  is 
done."  When  they  entered  his  room  he  generally 
addressed  them  to  the  following  effect ;  "  I  com- 
mend to  you  the  gospel  of  Christ:  it  sustains  me 
now." 

To  his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  to  his  people, 
and  to  the  youth  of  his  congregation,  he  sent  by 
Mr.  Newton  his  dying  messages. — "  Tell  the 
brethren  of  the  Ministers'  Meeting  and  of  the 
Presbytery  that  I  thank  them  for  the  confidence 
they  have  reposed  in  me:  I  have  loved  to  labor 
with  them,  and  to  be  associated  with  them :  tell 
them  to  be  earnest,  earnest  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  Express  to  my  people  my  dying  obliga- 
tions to  them  for  the  long  continued  confidence 
and  love  which  they  have  manifested  towards  me, 
notwithstanding  my  many  infirmities.  If  I  have 
been  in  any  degree  useful,  I  owe  my  usefulness  in 
a  great  measure  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
Church  has  stood  by  and  sustained  me.  Remem- 
ber me  affectionately  to  the  youth  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  say  especially  to  the  young  members 
of  the  Church  that  I  honor  them  for  their  con- 
stancy and  faithfulness  in  Christ's  service.  Tell 
my  congregation  to  prepare  to  meet  me  at  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Say  to  all  that  the  great 
truths  which  I  have  preached  to  them  sustain  me 
now,  and  are  completely  adequate  to  all  my  wants. 
I  am  satisfied  that  the  views  I  have  entertained, 
17 


194 


MEMOIR  OF 


in  regard  to  both  doctrines  and  measures,  are  sub- 
stantially correct ;  and  the  errors  I  have  combatted 
appear  to  be  magnified  rather  than  diminished." 

Earnestness  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  was  a 
theme  much  upon  his  lips  when  conversing  with 
his  brethren.  The  following  words,  addressed  to 
one  who  had  but  just  entered  upon  that  holy  of- 
fice, are  very  characteristic  of  his  own  spirit. 
"  Be  a  man  :  be  an  earnest,  earnest  man.  Make 
your  people  feel  that  you  love  their  souls.  One 
earnest  heart  is  worth  more  than  a  hundred  drones. 
You  have  just  entered  on  your  course :  you  have 
fallen  on  times  of  commotion  and  trial.  Don't 
spare  yourself:  don't  spare  yourself.  Some  men 
wear  themselves  out  early,  but  they  accomplish 
more  than  those  that  live  longer.  Be  an  earnest, 
faithful  minister  of  the  gospel  of  Christ." 

Respecting  his  successor  in  the  pastoral  office 
he  felt  deep  solicitude,  and  recommended  confi- 
dentially to  some  of  his  people  the  brother  who 
succeeded  to  his  place. 

On  the  Thursday  evening  preceding  his  death, 
a  severe  paroxysm  of  his  disease  came  on,  and  he 
was  thought  to  be  in  a  dying  condition.  He  called 
together  the  members  of  his  family,  took  his  leave 
of  them,  delivered  to  them  his  parting  messages, 
and  closed  with  a  prayer  for  himself  ending  with 
the  stanza — 

"  Jesus,  to  thy  dear  faithful  hands 

My  naked  soul  I  trust : 
My  flesh  is  waiting  thy  commands 

To  drop  into  the  dust." 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


195 


Yet  ho  revived  a  little,  and  lingered  through  the 
remainder  of  the  week.  On  Saturday,  about  noon, 
a  great  change  was  apparent,  indicating  his 
speedy  release  from  the  body.  At  this  time  he 
was  resting  in  a  nearly  upright  position,  supported 
by  pillows.  To  Mrs.  Judson  he  said,  "  Lay  me 
down,"  and,  when  this  was  done,  added,  "  How 
blessed  it  would  be  to  pass  away  now!"  On  Sab- 
bath morning,  about  four  or  five  o'clock,  his  wife 
said  to  him,  "  We  do  not  think  you  will  live  long." 
He  replied,  "  Well,  God  will  do  right."  She  then 
asked  him  if  he  was  able  to  have  any  distinct 
thoughts  of  God  and  Christ.  He  answered,  "  Not 
many  ;"  but  added,  "  Jesus  Christ  has  been  a  pre- 
cious Savior  to  me."    These  were  his  last  words. 

It  was  the  20th  of  August,  a  calm  summer's 
morning.  The  sun  had  newly  risen  upon  the 
earth  in  his  brightness  and  glory,  ushering  in 
another  day  of  holy  rest,  such  as  he  had  been 
wont  to  devote,  at  this  very  hour,  to  the  work  of 
preparing  for  each  of  his  flock  "  a  portion  in  due 
season,"  when,  without  a  struggle  or  a  groan,  his 
spirit  passed  away  to  him  who  gave  it.  The 
solemn  peals  of  the  bell  spoke  to  the  heart  of 
each  person  in  Milan.  They  told  the  community 
that  it  had  lost  Ihe  first  man  of  the  place  for 
efficiency  and  usefulness.  They  told  his  anxious 
waiting  people  that  they  were  now  "  as  sheep 
without  a  shepherd."  They  told  the  impenitent 
of  his  congregation  that  his  labors  for  their  salva- 
tion had  closed  forever. 


196 


MEMOIR. 


On  the  afternoon  of  the  Monday  following,  the 
last  office  of  love  and  respect  was  performed  to- 
wards the  remains  of  the  deceased.  Ten  or  twelve 
of  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  walked  by  the  side 
of  his  bier,  and  thought  of  the  seasons  when  he 
and  they  "  took  sweet  counsel  together,  and  walk- 
ed unto  the  house  of  God  in  company."  Of  all 
his  class-mates,  numbering,  twenty-two  years  be- 
fore, one  hundred,  the  writer  of  this  memoir  alone 
was  permitted  to  see  his  clay  deposited  in  its  final 
resting  place,  "  dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes,"  till 
the  resurrection  of  the  just. 


CHAPTER  X. 


GENERAL  ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER. 

It  remains  to  give  a  general  estimate  of  Mr. 
Judson's  character.  The  materials  for  this  are  to 
be  sought  in  the  preceding  chapters.  These 
should  contain,  directly  or  by  inference,  all  the 
traits  which  are  here  combined  into  a  whole.  In 
this  concluding  part  of  the  work,  then,  some  re- 
petition is  not  only  allowable,  but  necessary. 

When  we  consider  the  elements  which  go  to 
make  up  a  strong  character,  we  shall  always  find, 
along  with  others  of  a  subordinate  nature,  the 
three  following — capacity  of  deep  feeling,  tenacity 
of  purpose,  and  strength  of  intellect.  The  former 
of  these  is  necessary  to  give  motive  power.  No 
man  accomplishes  any  arduous  and  difficult  enter- 
prise without  the  capacity  of  throwing  his  whole 
soul  into  it,  and  being  borne  forward  by  a  strong 
and  steady  tide  of  excitement — excitement  that 
may  be  indeed  calm,  because  it  is  uniform,  but 
which  is,  nevertheless,  of  the  nature  of  an  engros- 
sing passion.  We  frecpiently  meet  with  men  of 
17* 


198 


MEMOIR  OF 


good  intellectual  endowments,  who  seem  to  be 
capable  of  accomplishing  something  valuable  for 
mankind,  could  they  but  be  aroused  to  energetic 
action.  Of  such,  a  common  remark  is,  "  What  a 
pity  that  persons  endowed  with  such  good  parts 
should  be  so  indolent!"  But  this  excitability  needs 
to  be  sustained  by  tenacity  of  purpose ;  in  other 
words,  by  a  strong  and  determined  will.  Other- 
wise we  shall  have  a  fickle  man,  given  to  per- 
petual changes ;  to-day,  all  absorbed  in  this  pro- 
ject, to-morrow,  abandoning  it  for  another.  Such 
an  unstable  mind  can  achieve  nothing  great.  It 
is  further  manifest  that  both  excitability  and 
strength  of  will  must  be  under  the  guidance  of  a 
clear  and  vigorous  understanding,  else  they  will 
be  only  blind  impetuosity  and  narrow-minded 
obstinacy.  We  frequently  meet  with  persons 
abundantly  supplied  with  these  two  latter  quali- 
ties, but  without  the  compass  of  intellect  neces- 
sary to  guide  them  to  valuable  results.  The  in- 
tellect, again,  has  two  spheres,  that  of  abstract 
principle,  and  that  of  actual  life.  According  as 
the  one  or  the  other  of  these  prevails,  we  shall 
have  a  philosophical  or  a  practical  turn  of  mind. 

If  now  we  inquire  after  the  combination  of 
these  elements  in  Mr.  Judson's  mind,  we  find  that 
he  had,  in  the  first  place,  great  motive  power. 
This  his  physical  constitution  indicated.  He  pos- 
sessed what  is  called  the  nervous-bilious  tem- 
perament. In  person  he  was  below  the  ordinary 
stature,  with  a  large  head,  short  thick  neck,  thin 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


199 


light  hair,  light  eye  full  of  vivacity  and  varied  ex- 
pression, and  a  pale  marble  complexion.  Upon 
their  first  introduction  strangers  were  apt  to  be 
disappointed  in  his  appearance,  for  it  was  not  re- 
markably graceful  and  imposing :  especially  was  this 
true  in  his  earlier  years,  when  he  was  gaunt  and 
thin,  with  a  very  youthful  look.  But  no  one  could 
be  long  in  his  presence  without  discerning  that  he 
possessed  great  force  of  character.  His  feelings 
welled  up  strong  and  copious  from  a  deep  reser- 
voir within.  Of  whatever  enterprise  he  took  hold 
it  was  with  a  strong  hand,  and  he  gave  himself  up 
to  an  engrossing  interest  in  it.  He  was  like  a 
ship  under  full  canvass  before  a  strong  breeze,  that 
cannot  be  readily  stopped  or  turned  aside  in  its 
course  by  any  outward  force.  Hence  his  impet- 
uosity. To  those  who  found  themselves  opposed 
to  his  views  and  plans  this  was  an  unpleasant 
trait  in  his  character,  and  even  his  best  friends 
were  often  made  uncomfortable  by  it.  Yet  it 
should  be  remembered  that  without  this  impe- 
tuous spirit  he  would  not  have  been  fitted  for  the 
rough  encounters  assigned  to  him  in  the  field  of 
his  labor.  With  less  warmth  of  temperament  he 
might  have  been  more  bland  and  courteous  as  a 
companion,  but  he  could  not  have  been,  as  a  pub- 
lic man,  so  efficient. 

Mr.  Judson's  impetuosity  of  character  made  him 
impatient  of  every  thing  like  stagnation  in  his 
parish.  He  was  not  the  man  to  settle  down  in 
quietude,  and  let  matters  take  their  course.    If  he 


200 


MEMOIR  OF 


could  not  see  his  Church  advancing  in  numbers 
and  in  piety  he  had  no  rest.  This  is  strikingly 
manifest  in  his  communication  to  the  deacons,  to 
which  allusion  has  already  been  made.  After  an 
enumeration  of  the  signs  of  declension,  of  which 
the  last  named  are  that  "the  members  of  the 
Church  are  diminishing  and  no  sinners  are  con- 
verted," he  adds, — "  This  state  of  things  has  for 
many  months  filled  my  soul  with  anxiety  and  dis- 
tress. My  nights  have  been  sleepless,  and  I  have 
wet  my  bed  with  tears.  You  cannot  but  know, 
as  well  as  myself,  that  my  preaching  and  labors 
are  productive  of  no  good.  I  have  done  what  I 
could  to  arouse  the  Church  the  winter  past,  but  it 
is  too  apparent  to  need  notice  from  me,  that  I 
have  had  almost  no  co-operation,  even  from  those 
on  whom  I  had  a  right  to  lean  for  help."  We 
have  seen  that  his  dying  testimony  to  the  co- 
operation of  his  Church  was  highly  honorable. 
But  when  this  letter  was  written  it  was  a  time 
of  general  apathy  and  inactivity,  and  this  his  sen- 
sitive spirit,  ever  on  the  reach  for  progress,  could 
not  bear.  It  disquieted  him  so  as  to  lead  him  to 
request  that  measures  might  be  taken  for  a  disso- 
lution of  the  pastoral  relation  existing  between 
him  and  his  people. 

If  Mr.  Judson's  motive  power  was  great,  so  also 
was  his  tenacity  of  purpose.  Hence  he  was  a  very 
decided  man.  He  was  capable  not  only  of  em- 
barking warmly  in  an  undertaking,  but  of  persis- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


201 


ting  in  it,  and  pursuing  it  steadily  year  after  year. 
Of  this  the  preceding  pages  furnish  the  proof,  and 
no  other  proof  is  necessary.  The  same  strength 
of  will  appears  in  the  fact  that  he  did  not  readily 
yield  his  opinions  to  those  of  his  brethren.  When 
he  had  formed  a  judgment  (which  was  very  apt  to 
be  right)  he  stoutly  maintained  it  against  the  op- 
posing judgments  of  others ;  or,  when  he  had  no 
hope  of  carrying  his  point,  he  waived  discussion 
upon  it,  while  he  did  not  abandon  it.  The  changes 
which  his  views  underwent  on  some  important 
points  were  always  gradual.  They  were  the  re- 
sults of  his  own  observations  and  reflections, 
aided  by  the  indirect  influence  of  his  intercourse 
with  other  minds.  For  example,  he  went  into  the 
system  of  protracted  meetings  with  great  ardor, 
and  for  a  time,  he  was  much  engrossed  in  them, 
and  managed  them  with  no  little  success.  After- 
wards he  began  privately  to  express  to  his  confi- 
dential friends  doubts  respecting  their  further 
utility;  next  he  took  with  respect  to  them  the  at- 
titude of  inactivity  ;  and,  finally,  that  of  open  dis- 
approbation. Changes  in  his  views  were  gen- 
erally after  this  fashion.  His  impulsiveness  some- 
times led  him  to  take  up  a  plan  hastily,  but  he 
never  abandoned  it  in  haste  ;  nor,  while  engaged 
in  the  full  pursuit  of  it,  was  he  apt  to  treat  with 
much  deference  the  objections  which  others  urged 
against  it.  But,  after  he  had  abandoned  it,  he 
would  frankly  acknowledge  that  he  had  been  in 
an  error. 


202 


MEMOIR  OP 


Mr.  Judson's  intellectual  poivers  were  of  a  high 
order,  and  their  sphere  was  the  practical  rather 
than  the  theoretic.  For  philosophical  investiga- 
tion and  analysis  he  had  no  relish.  He  was  nei- 
ther a  maker  nor  a  combatter  of  metaphysical  sys- 
tems. His  field  was  the  world  of  actual  life,  and 
here  he  manifested  uncommon  rapidity,  correct- 
ness, and  comprehensiveness  of  judgment ;  dis- 
cerning the  various  relations  and  bearings  of  a 
subject  under  discussion  as  soon  as  the  facts  were 
placed  before  his  mind,  so  as  to  be  able,  with 
great  promptness,  to  propose  a  plan  and  sustain  it 
by  valid  reasons.  It  was  this  capacity  of  rapid 
and  correct  judgment,  united  with  his  peculiar 
energy  and  decision  of  character,  that  gave  him 
such  pre-eminence  in  deliberative  assemblies. 
Men  had  learned  from  experience  that  his  opinions 
were  generally  correct,  and  that  he  would  adhere 
to  them  with  tenacity,  and  sustain  them  with 
ready  argument.  And  here  it  is  pertinent  to  re- 
mark that  his  judgment  was  pre-eminently  of  a 
positive  character.  He  was  not  the  man  to  throw 
cold  water  upon  the  undertakings  of  others,  while 
he  himself  maintained  an  attitude  of  inaction. 
On  the  contrary,  his  mind  was,  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree, inventive  and  fertile  in  expedients.  In  any 
emergency  he  was  among  the  first  to  propose  a 
plan,  and  his  plans,  commending  themselves  by 
their  simplicity  and  feasibility  to  the  good  sense 
of  others,  were  very  apt  to  prevail. 

In  nothing  were  his  judgment  and  skill  more 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


203 


conspicuous  than  in  his  capacity  of  gaining  access 
to  the  minds  of  others.  He  had  a  deep  insight  of 
the  springs  of  human  action,  and  was  able  to  ope- 
rate upon  them  with  great  success.  All  set  and 
formal  modes  of  approaching  men  he  avoided, 
and  varied  his  manner  of  address  to  suit  circum- 
stances and  characters.  Of  this  trait  sufficient  no- 
tice was  taken  when  his  character  as  a  pastor  was 
under  consideration.  But  it  may  not  be  improper 
to  add  here  a  suggestion  on  the  importance  of  a 
minister's  making  the  human  heart  and  the  means 
of  approaching  it  an  object  of  earnest  and  prayer- 
ful study,  since  a  failure  in  this  respect  is  most 
calamitous.  A  stiff  and  formal  way  of  addressing 
men  on  the  subject  of  their  spiritual  interests, 
which  knows  no  variation  for  either  age,  charac- 
ter, or  office,  is  a  serious  drawback  to  a  pastor's 
usefulness  ;  while  felicity  of  address  (which  must 
always  have  its  foundation  in  a  knowledge  of  the 
human  heart)  is  a  perennial  fountain  of  influence. 
How  much  was  accomplished  in  this  way  by  the 
subject  of  the  preceding  memoir,  will  be  manifest 
to  the  reader. 

Mr.  Judson  had  talents  for  business  that  were 
rarely  excelled.  He  was  wise  to  plan,  and  with 
this  wisdom  he  united  great  energy  of  purpose 
and  promptness  of  execution.  Whatever  he  did, 
he  did  strong.  "  I  remember,"  says  a  former 
member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Huron,  "a  very  une- 
quivocal token  of  respect  paid  to  brother  Judson's 


204 


MEMOIR  OF 


talent  of  dispatch.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Presby- 
tery in  Berlin,  it  was  desirable,  for  some  reason, 
to  have  the  business  of  the  meeting  carried 
through  with  as  much  dispatch  as  propriety 
would  admit.  It  was  the  meeting  at  which  a 
Moderator  was  to  be  chosen  for  the  year,  and  al- 
though brother  Judson  had  been  Moderator  for  the 
year  past,  he  was,  I  think,  unanimously  reappoint- 
ed. *  *  *  I  do  not  know  that  such  a  circumstance 
ever  occured  before  or  since  in  that  body.  It  was 
a  spontaneous  and  unpremeditated  tribute  of  re- 
spect and  confidence  to  his  business  tact."  Of 
his  superiority  in  this  respect  no  better  proof  is 
needed  than  the  fact  that  men  of  business  in  Mi- 
lan were  much  in  the  habit  of  resorting  to  him  for 
counsel.  There  are  few  men  in  that  place  who 
did  not  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  avail  themselves 
of  his  excellent  judgment  and  practical  wisdom 
when  engaged  in  difficult  enterprises.  One  who 
had  his  confidence  from  the  first  and  knew  him 
thoroughly  uses  the  following  language  respecting 
him.  "  I  have  heard  Judge  Choat  say  that  he 
would  give  more  for  his  judgment  in  respect  to 
any  new  improvement  than  that  of  any  other  man 
he  knew.  The  same  was  my  opinion.  The  mo- 
ment he  looked  at  my  'reaper'  he  said,  'That 
tool  will  be  worth  half  its  cost  to  you  every  year.' 
His  judgment  proved  to  be  correct."  Another 
says  of  him :  "  In  any  business  which  he  under- 
took he  had  few  equals.  In  helping  young  men 
forward  he  was  very  useful,  being  fertile  in  re- 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


205 


sources.  Whatever  needed  to  be  accomplished, 
he  devised  ways  and  means  to  bring  it  to  pass. 
This  was  a  striking  trait  in  his  character." 

Some  subordinate  but  striking  traits  in  Mr.  Jud- 
son's  character  remain  to  be  considered.  One  of 
these  was  his  great  plainness  of  speech,  proceed- 
ing, too  often,  to  an  unpleasant  bluntness.  This, 
as  he  himself  affirmed,  he  inherited  from  his 
mother ;  and  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  it 
was  sometimes  exhibited,  in  its  most  naked  form, 
upon  his  first  introduction  to  strangers.  Instances 
are  known  of  his  giving  unnecessary  offense  in 
this  way  in  a  first  interview,  for  which,  in  subse- 
quent interviews,  he  took  no  little  pains  to  make 
amends,  not  by  a  direct  apology,  but  by  a  kind 
and  conciliatory  manner.  The  offense  was  given 
not  through  defect  of  judgment  (otherwise  than  as 
inconsideration  is  always  ill-judged)  but  from 
heedlessly  yielding  to  the  impulse  of  the  moment. 
The  reparation  was  considerate,  and,  in  most 
cases,  remarkably  effectual.  He  had  indeed  rare 
skill  in  making  peace  with  those  to  whom  he  had 
given  umbrage.  Striking  cases  could  be  men- 
tioned of  his  overcoming  the  dislike  of  such.  It 
was  his  way  to  treat  those  whose  feelings  towards 
him  he  knew  to  be  cold  as  though  nothing  had 
happened. 


13 


206 


MEMOIR  OF 


His  generosity  was  known  and  admitted  by  all. 
No  man  had  a  more  profound  abhorrence  of  what- 
ever borders  upon  meanness  in  pecuniary  transac- 
tions.   In  the  earlier  part  of  his  ministry  he  seems 
not  to  have  had  a  fixed  salary.  He  took  what  was 
given  him,  and  a  considerable  part  of  it  was  in 
produce,  or,  to  use  the  expressive  term  of  the  re- 
gion, 11  dicker."    To  this  he  always  allowed  the 
subscriber  to  set  his  own  price.    If  remonstrated 
with  on  the  absurdity  of  taking  oats  at  thirty-seven 
cents  per  bushel,  when  the  market  price  was  thirty- 
one,  he  would  reply,  "  Higgling  destroys  a  minis- 
ter's influence."    That  the  maxim  was  true  must 
be  conceded ;  and  it  furnishes  a  strong  argument 
against  the  habit  of  paying  a  pastor's  salary  in 
this  way.    Unhappy  indeed  is  the  position  of  the 
man  of  God,  who  is  compelled  to  see  one  of  the 
people  committed  to  his  spiritual  care  doing  a 
thing  which  deserves  rebuke,  and  to  feel,  at  the 
same  time,  that  the  administration  of  such  rebuke 
will  subject  him  to  the  imputation  of  unworthy 
motives.    It  must  not  be  inferred,  however,  that 
such  littleness  as  that  above  described  was  com- 
mon among  his  people.    On  the  contrary  they 
were,  as  a  body,  very  liberal  in  their  dealings  with 
him,  so  that,  upon  the  whole,  he  was  a  gainer 
rather  than  a  loser  by  the  principle  which  he 
adopted. 

Of  his  liberality  a  striking  example  has  been 
given  in  his  donation  to  the  congregation  in  Ber- 
lin of  $100,  when,  according  to  his  own  statement, 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


207 


he  would  rather  have  had  $350  cash,  in  regular 
payments,  than  the  total  amount  of  salary  which 
he  realized.  He  was  generous  to  a  fault.  When 
he  had  his  heart  set  on  the  accomplishment  of  a 
good  enterprise  he  would  become  liable  for  large 
sums  of  money,  as  in  the  case  of  the  erection  of 
his  Church.  He  would  part  with  his  last  dollar, 
and  then  borrow  money  to  give  away.  In  this 
way  he  kept  himself  in  slender  pecuniary  circum- 
stances. With  his  superior  talents  for  business, 
his  extensive  acquaintance,  and  abundant  oppor- 
tunities of  profitable  investment,  he  might  have 
easily  enriched  himself.  But  he  was  never  known 
to  engage  in  a  business  transaction  for  his  own 
emolument.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  be- 
came a  little  more  careful  in  his  pecuniary  mat- 
ters. One  of  his  parishioners,  during  this  period, 
interested  himself  in  the  management  of  them, 
and  thus  rendered  him  very  valuable  assistance. 
His  people  also  were  very  generous  towards  him 
and  frequently  made  him  valuable  presents. 

Mr.  Judson  had  a  social  disposition.  His  warm 
and  sympathising  spirit  instinctively  sought  so- 
ciety. His  habits  were  as  far  removed  as  possible 
from  those  of  the  recluse.  No  where  (if  we  except 
his  pastoral  visitations  to  the  serious,  or  to  the 
sick  and  afflicted)  did  he  shine  more  conspicuously 
than  among  friends  of  kindred  spirit  and  views. 
In  such  circles  his  talent  of  uttering  striking 
thoughts  appeared  to  great  advantage ;  and  his 


208 


MEMOIR  OF 


discourse  was  seasoned  with  pithy  and  oft-times 
numerous  anecdotes  set  off  by  his  peculiar  tones 
and  varied  expression  of  countenance.  Of  the 
vast  influence  of  social  intercourse  he  had  a  just 
appreciation,  and  he  strenuously  insisted  on  its 
being  regulated  in  his  parish  by  christian  princi- 
ples. To  large  social  gatherings  he  was  always 
hostile,  on  account  of  their  tendency  to  extrava- 
gance, frivolity  and  vain  display.  His  maxim 
was,  "  As  many  as  can  be  seated  around  one  ta- 
ble ;"  and  this  he  defended  on  the  ground  that 
some  definite  rule  was  expedient,  and  that  this 
was  both  simple  and  natural.  In  like  manner  he 
once  remarked  to  the  author  that,  when  he  went 
into  his  wood-shed  on  Sabbath  mornings  for 
kindling-wood,  it  was  his  habit  to  select  such 
pieces  as  could  be  broken  with  the  hand  without 
the  help  of  the  axe.  "  Not  that  I  suppose,"  said 
he,  "  that  to  strike  a  few  blows  with  an  axe  on 
Sabbath  morning  would  be  in  itself  wrong,  but 
because  I  find  that  I  need,  and  the  youth  in  my 
family  need,  some  definite  and  simple  limit." 

Mr.  Judson  united  the  jocular  turn  of  his  father, 
with  the  sarcastic  vein  of  his  mother;  and  it 
would  seem  that  the  question  which  should,  for 
the  time  being,  bear  sway,  was  determined  by  the 
state  of  his  animal  spirits — we  might  say,  per- 
haps, by  the  state  of  his  digestion.  In  one  of  the 
letters  of  the  Empress  Josephine  to  her  daughter 
Hortense,  the  wife  of  Louis  Bonaparte,  there  is  a 


EVERTON  JUDSOX. 


209 


striking  remark  on  the  connection  between  the 
digestion  and  the  animal  spirits  and  temper. 
"  You  have  not  failed,"  she  writes,  "  to  remark 
that  almost  our  entire  existence  depends  upon  our 
health,  and  that  upon  our  digestion.  Let  poor 
Louis  digest  better,  and  you  would  find  him 
more  amiable."  When  Mr.  Judson's  digestion, 
and  consequently  the  flow  of  his  animal  spirits, 
was  good,  he  had  an  exuberance  of  humor  and 
jocularity.  But  when,  from  the  influence  of  ill 
health,  his  spirits  were  depressed  and  his  mind 
was  in  a  gloomy  mood,  he  was  impatient  of  little 
annoyances,  and  his  sarcastic  remarks  would 
come  across  the  feelings  of  his  friends  in  an  un- 
pleasant way.  This  infirmity  he  often  lamented, 
and  it  was  to  him  the  source  of  deep  sorrow. 
During  the  last  years  of  his  ministry  he  was 
gradually  overcoming  his  disposition  to  sarcasm 
as  well  as  his  habit  of  offensive  bluntness. 

The  most  prominent,  indeed,  of  Mr.  Judson's 
failings  were  connected  with  his  impulsive  and 
uneven  temper.  The  unfavorable  influence  of  this 
upon  his  judgment  in  some  remarkable  cases  has 
been  already  noticed.  It  should  be  added  that 
the  same  trait  of  character  made  him  somewhat 
liable  to  personal  prejudices.  His  first  impres- 
sions of  an  individual  were  strong  and  lasting, 
and  sometimes  unfavorably  colored  by  the  hue  of 
his  own  feelings. 


18* 


210 


MEMOIR  OF 


Mr.  Judson's  piety  took  its  complexion  from 
the  traits  of  his  natural  character  that  have  now 
been  considered.  It  had  very  little  of  the  ideal 
and  imaginative ;  but  was  rather  solid  and  prac- 
tical, keeping  ever  in  view  substantial,  tangible 
results.  It  was  that  vigorous  and  healthful  piety 
which  projects  itself  upon  the  field  of  christian 
labor.  By  his  native  constitution  he  was  averse 
to  the  employment  of  dwelling  upon  and  analy- 
zing his  varying  frames  and  feelings;  and  from 
principle  he  kept  no  record  of  the  same.  Profes- 
sions of  high-wrought  exercises  and  of  an  intense 
experience  he  ever  regarded  with  suspicion,  be- 
lieving that,  in  proportion  as  such  exercises  are 
genuine,  they  will  naturally  manifest  themselves 
in  the  life,  without  being  made  objects  of  direct 
display ;  and  that  the  ostentatious  exhibition  of 
them  is  the  worst  kind  of  vanity  and  hypocrisy. 
Nothing  did  he  denounce  with  more  severity  than 
what  he  called  "  pious  talking"  united  with  wick- 
ed acting. 

The  great  doctrines  of  grace  he  embraced  with 
all  his  heart,  and  gave  himself  up  to  their  influ- 
ence, without  troubling  himself  with  metaphysical 
difficulties  respecting  their  relations  to  each  other. 
Of  him  it  may  be  said  emphatically,  that  he  first 
gave  himself  to  the  Lord,  and  then  to  the  Church, 
by  the  will  of  God.  If,  as  one  has  said,  a  call  to 
the  ministry  is  a  "  passion  for  souls,"  then  he  had 
this  call ;  and  no  one  simple  idea  would  more 
beautifully  harmonize  with  the  entire  course  of  his 


EVERTON  JUDSON. 


211 


ministry.  His  motive  power  was  a  passion,  an 
impulsive,  controling  emotion ;  and  it  had  for  its 
scope  the  salvation  of  men.  That  a  religion  of 
this  healthful  and  substantial  character  should 
have  endured  the  touchstone  of  disease  and  ap- 
proaching dissolution,  and  burned  brightest  as  the 
lamp  of  life  was  expiring,  is  not  surprising.  It  is 
written  that  the  path  of  the  just  shall  be  "  as  the 
shining  light,  that  shineth  more  and  more  unto 
the  perfect  day." 

In  the  general  review  of  Mr.  Judson's  character 
we  see  in  him  a  man  who  had  faults,  but  whose 
failings  were  far  outweighed  by  his  excellent  quali- 
ties. He  was  such  a  man  as  one  would  love  to 
have  for  a  companion,  a  counselor,  a  neighbor,  a 
pastor,  an  associate  in  the  ministry.  He  was  pre- 
eminently fitted  for  the  time  in  which  he  lived, 
and  the  field  of  labor  which  he  occupied.  He  left 
his  native  place  in  the  autumn  of  1829,  intending 
to  locate  himself  in  Marion  county.  But  God  had 
marked  out  for  him  another  sphere  of  action,  and 
arranged  a  series  of  providences  which  should 
guide  him  into  it.  He  came  at  the  right  time, 
and  to  the  right  field  for  the  development  of  his 
peculiar  mental  endowments.  God,  by  his  provi- 
dence and  his  Spirit,  was  already  preparing  the 
way  for  an  extensive  work  of  grace  in  all  that  re- 
gion, from  which,  within  a  few  years  after  his  ar- 
rival, he  and  his  brethren  were  permitted  to  reap  a 


212 


MEMOIR. 


rich  spiritual  harvest.  When  this  season  of  spe- 
cial awakening  was  past,  he  still  held  on  his  way, 
and  exhibited  to  his  brethren  an  example  of  suc- 
cessful pastoral  labor  that  cannot  but  be  both  in- 
structive and  encouraging.  It  is  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exalting  an  imperfect  mortal  that  this 
Memoir  is  presented  to  the  public,  but  with  the 
humble  hope  and  prayer  that  it  may  be  made  con- 
ducive to  the  edification  and  usefulness  of  those 
who  may  read  it,  especially  of  such  as  labor  in  the 
work  of  the  gospel  ministry. 


